Missing Man Fell Into Plastic Shredder at Recycling Plant: Reports

Partial remains of Duncan Alexander Burrell Gordon were reportedly found by authorities under a conveyor belt at the recycling plant where he worked

The partial remains of a 20-year-old man missing since May were found at the South Carolina recycling plant where he worked, according to multiple outlets citing officials.

The Spartanburg County Coroner's Office said tests showed Duncan Alexander Burrell Gordon fell into a shredding machine at Industrial Recovery and Recycling in Greer and died, The State reported. Gordon was working on the machine when he went missing, per the South Carolina newspaper.

Coroner's officials said they were contacted on June 10 after human tissue, which was a DNA match for Gordon's parents, was found under a conveyor belt by the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, the newspaper reported.

The Spartanburg County Coroner's Office was not immediately available for comment when contacted by PEOPLE.

The machine was inspected a total of four times, including by Gordon's father, a supervisor at the plant, according to the Herald-Journal. The newspaper reported that the human material was found during the third search.

After the third search, the recovered material — which was found "under a support under the conveyor belt just after the plastic shredding machine" — was eventually determined to be blood, Coroner Rusty Clevenger wrote in a news release, according to NBC affiliate WYFF.

"After hydration, it tested positive for human blood," Clevenger added.

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Material was also found during the fourth search conducted by the coroner's office, reported The State.

Tests confirmed that "the material is consistent with human fat, microscopically minute particles of skin and small pieces of bone," the coroner said in the release, according to WYFF.

About 60,000 lbs. of plastic were processed between May 5, when Gordon was last seen, and when investigators first arrived to inspect the machine, Clevenger reportedly said.

The coroner said officials at the plant cooperated with the office's missing persons investigation, which is now closed, WYFF reported.

The recycling plant did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

The South Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office are both investigating the death, PEOPLE confirms.

According to the Herald-Journal, police did not comment on whether Gordon's death was being investigated as an accident or a homicide.

When contacted by the newspaper, Gordon's father declined to comment on his son's death.

Gordon, who graduated from high school in 2020, was remembered by his mother for being a "goofball" who "was all about his family."

"He has three older brothers and one younger sister," said mom Jaime Renee Dill, according to the Herald-Journal. "He loved bowling and four-wheeling. He was a goofball. He loved his gummy bears."