A man who was arrested on suspicion of murder after human remains were found at a nature reserve has been released on bail. 

Detectives and specialist officers are continuing to work hard to determine the identity of human remains that were found in Kersal Wetlands on Thursday, April 4.

Police were called to the area after a torso wrapped in plastic was found in the area.

Forensic examinations on Friday afternoon determined that the victim is a man, likely to be aged older than 40, and who had only been dead for a matter of days, Greater Manchester Police (GMP said.

Over the weekend, the force said a 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder but has since been released on bail, pending further enquiries. 

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Naismith of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “This is a distressing case, and we understand that the news last Thursday quite rightly caused shockwaves for the people of Salford and further afield in Greater Manchester.

“At the forefront of our thoughts is our victim, a life has been lost, and our job is to investigate this thoroughly in order to find out answers for a family that will one day suffer the loss of their loved one.

“I want people to be reassured with our large and visible presence in the local area.

“We continue to search the area thoroughly by utilising specialist departments to increase our capabilities in order to ensure a wide and thorough search of the area.

“Our underwater divers have been out searching throughout the weekend and into this week and our canine capabilities have also been deployed with specialist search dogs examining every inch of Kersal Wetlands and the surrounding area.

“Once again, I’d like to extend my gratitude to the local community, who are giving our officers the time and space they need to progress this investigation, their cooperation and assistance is giving us the best chance possible in establishing the full facts.

“Due to the condition that we found our victim in, we are relying a lot on forensic work which can take time, and this is where we need the public to help us.

“I want to assure you we will provide you with updates as and when we can but the most important thing for us now is finding out the identity of our victim and finding out as much as possible into how his remains were found in Kersal.”

If anyone thinks they may have witnessed any suspicious activity in the Kersal Dale area over the last few days, please contact police by calling 101 and quoting log number 2,695 of April 4.