Investigators searching a Philadelphia property linked to seven missing or unidentified women have reportedly uncovered a concealed safe beneath the floorboards and bones in the backyard.
Philadelphia police and FBI agents made the discoveries while examining the Olney home once occupied by convicted meth producer and erotic photographer Raymond “R.C.” Horsch and his son, Eugene, NBC10 reported. Authorities have connected the property to the cases of seven women.
Law enforcement sources told the station that crews located a hidden safe while opening up sections of the walls and flooring. Officials have not said what, if anything, was found inside.
Search teams also recovered bone fragments from the backyard Thursday, leading investigators to contact the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, according to the sources.
Authorities are still testing the remains to determine whether they came from a person or an animal, the local outlet reported.
Investigators have been taking soil samples across the property and are expected to turn their attention next to the front area of the Chew Avenue home.
“Right now, it looks like soil samples. We saw them going in and taking some samples,” Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant who is not involved in the investigation, told NBC10. He said samples are typically collected from multiple locations and depths to check for possible chemical contamination.
Eugene Horsch remains in custody on firearms-related charges while detectives investigate what may have happened to the women associated with the case.
Since his arrest in June, investigators have reported finding a series of disturbing items inside the deteriorating house, including alleged snuff films involving R.C. and several women, containers holding unidentified chemicals and writings that referenced serial killers.
In one alleged recording, R.C. appeared to strangle a woman, according to authorities. Investigators believe he may have targeted vulnerable women with drug addictions and brought them to the property.
Police are also reviewing a massive collection of more than one million photographs and other images recovered from the home.
Authorities said images and video found at the property appeared to show two missing women, Maribel Frieses and Gabrielle Amarando, after their deaths. Frieses was last seen in 2018, while Amarando disappeared in 2012.
Investigators have also identified Blair Tonzelli, who disappeared in 2023, and Amy McHale, Horsch’s former wife, who was last seen in 2016, in connection with the probe.
McHale’s relatives have said her last known location was the Philadelphia residence shared by Horsch and his son.
R.C. died last year. Investigators believe his remains may be among five urns recovered from the abandoned brick house.
