Officers discovered a pig was trapped in the basement of the house, which was accessible only by ladder.
"No pun intended but it looks like a pigsty," Assistant Police Chief Steve Dolunt told WXYZ. "There's 2 feet of feces down there."
Animal rescue workers built a ramp for the animal and, with some difficulty, were eventually able to get the pig out of the basement.
Police say cadaver dogs were unable to find evidence of human remains.
Neighbors say the homeowner was Gary Roquemore, who owned multiple houses on the block and was found dead in a nearby residence earlier in the week. Police did not identify Roquemore but said the pig's owner died of natural causes on Tuesday.
"There is a stench emanating from all three homes," Dolunt said. "It looks like at this time, preliminarily, this is a hoarder, so we can't tell what we have in all three homes."
The pig was originally slated to go to a farm in Canton, Mich. but was deemed too large. Animal rescue group Devoted Barn reportedly adopted the animal.
