Pigs eat 70-year-old Oregon farmer

COQUILLE, Ore., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A 70-year-old farmer in Oregon was eaten by 700-pound pigs, but how he died is a mystery, authorities said.

Terry V. Garner went to feed his pigs Wednesday. When he failed to return, a family member went looking for him and found his dentures on the ground of the hog enclosure, NBC News reported Monday.

The pigs had left behind few body parts, the report said.

The Coos County Sheriff's Office is trying to determine how Garner "ended up in a position where the hogs were able to consume him."

"There are several scenarios being investigated, including that Mr. Garner had a health event, such as a heart attack, which then put him in a position where the hogs could consume him," the Sherriff's Office said in a statement. "Another scenario being investigated is that given the age and health of Mr. Garner, that one or more of the hogs knocked Mr. Garner to the ground, whereupon that hogs killed and consumed him."

At least one pig had been aggressive toward Garner in the past, the statement said.

A pathologist who examined the remains was unable to determine a cause of death.