Note mentioning serial killer Ted Bundy, zip ties found amid investigation at Philadelphia home
The man who lives there, 44-year-old Eugene Horsch, remains in custody on drugs and firearms charges.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The investigation continues at a home in Philadelphia's Olney section.
Evidence found at a home in the 400 block of West Chew Avenue last Friday is being tested and analyzed after police found chemicals, ammunition and drugs.
The man who lives there, 44-year-old Eugene Horsch, remains in custody on drugs and firearms charges.
While police say the search is complete and there is no danger to neighbors, Action News has learned about a disturbing handwritten note.
Documents obtained by Action News show that zip ties, as well as a handwritten note that mentions serial killer Ted Bundy, as well as ways to dispose of trash, were discovered at the home.
Authorities say the note didn't have a signature.
Officers are still holding the scene in case they need to re-enter the property to collect more evidence.
What we know about investigation
Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said in a news conference that the investigation began around 9 a.m. on Friday, June 19, when a park ranger came across a disturbance involving a man and a woman inside a black BMW in the 600 block of Market Street on Independence Mall.
"When he's addressing the occupants, he hears what he believes the female to say, 'you're going to hurt me,'" Vanore said.
That caused the ranger to investigate further, Vanore said. At that point, investigators say, Horsch was found to be in possession of what turned out to be fake DEA credentials.
Two guns were also found in the car, Vanore said, both of which had obliterated serial numbers.
The woman, meanwhile, allegedly gave officers an ID with her photo but the name of a woman who had been reported missing.
The woman who was with Horsch said Horsch gave her the identification, Vanore said.
Vanore did not offer any details about the missing woman and said there is no evidence at this time that the missing woman was in the Chew Avenue house.
"Right now, I don't have anything that points to the fact, other than he had enough information about her to create another identification with another woman's photo and her name and make it look like it was the other person," Vanore said.
The developments drew the attention of the family of Amy McHale, who disappeared in 2016 after she was last seen at the West Chew Avenue home.
McHale had previously been married to Horsch's late father.
Amanda Stofer, McHale's daughter, said news of the search initially gave her hope that investigators had found answers about her mother's disappearance.
RELATED | Missing woman's family says she was last seen at Olney home where police found chemicals, weapons
She has not been seen since.
Stofer described Horsch as "very quiet" and "very intelligent" and said her mother left her a voicemail the day she disappeared, saying she was at the home.
The investigation that began last week led officers to the Chew Avenue address, where they discovered another gun and more than 120 pieces of ballistics evidence, Vanore said.
Chopper 6 was over the scene on Friday, where police and FBI agents could be seen outside the home. Investigators wearing hazmat suits were also seen entering the property as police secured the neighborhood.
Narcotics were also found and police say there was evidence that Horsch was attempting to grow or produce narcotics on his own.
Meanwhile, a large number of various chemicals were found in the basement. While it's not yet known what the chemicals were for.
"Some of these chemicals, if they were to be put together and obviously ignited, they could cause some hazards," Vanore said.
Officials say the sheer quantity of chemicals found on the property raised red flags.
The items in the basement included a 55-gallon drum and connections to water lines. Vanore called it a "strange setup."
"We just don't know what he was doing," Vanore said. "If he's producing something, if he's making something, if he's irrigating something, we don't know."
On Friday, Vanore also addressed rumors that there were bodies inside the home. He said, at this point, no bodies have been found.
"We're going to further search," he said. "There's a sump pump that looks like a hole in the ground, but there's no bodies. I don't have any bodies."
He went on to say that homicide detectives were involved because they are the department's most experienced investigators.
Although no remains were found during Friday's search, Stofer said the investigation still provides hope that her family could eventually learn what happened.
Vanore did say some urns were found in the house, and one is labeled with a family member's name.
"So they could be just family members' urns, we don't know," Vanore said.
Horsch is a convicted felon who is being held on charges related to the guns and the amount of narcotics allegedly in his possession, Vanore said.
Horsch's attorney, Jerry Brown, said his client's father lived in the home for a long time and had "a very interesting past" and he "thinks a lot of the chemistry stuff is [Horsch's] father's."
Brown said the chemicals found inside the home belonged to Horsch's father and that he does not believe they are dangerous.
Brown declined to comment further on the criminal investigation.
Authorities also plan to examine activity at the property before Horsch lived there.
