An Oregon farmer who went to bring his hogs breakfast instead, apparently, became the meal himself.
Terry Vance Garner, 69, never returned from feeding his hogs last Wednesday, prompting a family member to check on him about 2:30 p.m. and call authorities.
What they found was more on par with a Hannibal Lecter novel than a rural farm near the Oregon coast.
'They first found his dentures and his hat, a package of cigarettes, his pocket knife. Then they started seeing pieces of his body,' said Paul Frasier, Coos County district attorney.
Several of the hogs weighed 700 pounds or more, Frasier said.
Authorities do not suspect foul play, however Frasier and the Coos County Sheriff's Office are investigating Garner's death.
'I know they've been investigating the scene, collecting his pieces of clothing and talking to people about the hogs,' Frasier said. 'We've heard that one might have been aggressive.'
The farmer's brother, retired pilot Michael Garner, 75, said his brother was spooked by one incident with a hog in the past.
'He stepped on one of the babies one time and the mother bit him,' Garner said.
His brother had raised hogs for years, he said, selling the young ones to the 4-H clubs at schools.
Frasier said it was unclear when the investigation would be completed, however he noted it was one of the more unique cases of his career.
'First time I've had a situation like this,' he said. 'Outside of television and reading Hannibal Lecter novels, I've never heard of anything like this.'
In the novel 'Hannibal,' Lecter is nearly fed to wild boars by someone bent on revenge, but Lecter escapes and instead feeds his captor to the animals.