Scrapyard worker makes gruesome discovery in car towed to lot, NC cops say

UPDATE: The remains found May 14 at Leonard Salvage have been identified as those of Lee Anthony Funderburk, 53, who was reported missing in Charlotte in 2016, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. The remains were found in a vehicle that had been registered to his mother, Mattie Mae Funderburk, CMPD says. The cause of death was homicide.

The original story is below.

Human remains turned up in a macabre way when a scrapyard worker took a closer look at one of the junked vehicles sitting on the lot, according to investigators in North Carolina.

The discovery was made late in the afternoon Wednesday, May 14, at Leonard Salvage on Old US Highway 52 near Lexington, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office said. The scrap business is about a 60-mile drive northeast from Charlotte.

“An employee with Leonard Salvage located human remains during their shift, which were removed from a salvaged vehicle on their lot,” the sheriff’s office said in a May 15 Facebook post.

“Detectives ... and special agents with the North Carolina state Bureau of Investigation are actively processing the scene.”

The remains “will be sent to the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy,” the State Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.

The identity of the person and possible cause of death have not been released. Details about the vehicle were also withheld.

Leonard Salvage is in the scrap metals recycling business, including the purchase of car parts, according to Manta.com.

This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 12:45 PM.