A partially mummified hand has been found on the grounds of a facility used by Germany's civil defence agency in western Germany, prosecutors confirmed on Thursday.
The partially decomposed human body part was first discovered on March 16. According to a spokeswoman for the local public prosecutor's office, cadaver dogs helped search the site in the town of Gelnhausen, but failed to find any additional human remains.
The hand was autopsied and forensic examinations are ongoing. The spokeswoman said it remains unclear whether the hand belonged to a man or woman.
"We assume that the owner of the hand is deceased, but at the moment we have no evidence of any kind of violent crime," she said.
The spokeswoman confirmed that the hand was missing the upper parts of several fingers, although that could also be the sign of decomposition and is not necessarily evidence of foul play.
"If the connection between the phalanges of the fingers dissolves due to decay caused by muscles and tendons etcetera, then you also lose the top part of the finger," she explained.
Further details are still awaiting the results of forensic investigations and examinations, she said.