Pig Farm
© KCBYPig farm near Riverton, Oregon, where 700-pound hogs are believed to have eaten their 70-year-old owner.
A family member of an Oregon pig farmer discovered his relative's body parts scattered across the pen - a gruesome find leaving authorities to believe it was a case of hog eating human.

A pathologist couldn't immediately determine whether the pigs were the actual cause of 70-year-old Terry Garner's death, but a forensic expert at the University of Oregon will conduct further tests, CBS affiliate KCBY reported Monday.

"What a way," someone who answered the phone at Garner's home told NBC News.

Investigators aren't ruling out the possibility another person could have been involved.

"Due to the unusual circumstances, the Sheriff's Office is investigating to determine if foul play may have resulted in the death of Mr. Garner," District Attorney Paul Frasier told KCBY.

Garner was at his farm near rural Riverton last Wednesday, when a family member went looking for him, according to The Register-Guard.

Garner's dentures were first spotted inside the hog enclosure, and then other random body parts were located - although most of him had already been devoured, the newspaper added.

The Coos County Sheriff's Office has a couple of theories on what occurred: Garner could have suffered a medical emergency, such as a heart attack, leaving him in "a position where the hogs could consume him," according to a statement.

In another scenario, the swine - weighing about 700 pounds each - may have knocked Garner down, overwhelming him before killing him, authorities said.

It's unclear exactly how many pigs live on the farm, but police believe one of them had been aggressive toward Garner before.

Pigs are omnivorous, and have previously been known to feast on people.

The 56-year-old wife of a pig farmer in Romania was knocked unconscious and eaten in the animals' sty, UPI reported in 2005.

Her ears, half her face and fingers had been ripped off, a doctor said.