Missing Worker’s Body Found Under Roll of Carpet

IRVINE — The body of a 25-year-old carpet warehouse employee who had been missing since Dec. 23 was found Tuesday beneath a huge roll of carpet that apparently trapped and killed him, police said.

The victim’s name was withheld Tuesday pending notification of his relatives, but Irvine Police Sgt. Scott Cade said the roll apparently “just came down” on the worker at the Royalty Carpet Mills warehouse at 2567 Main St. in Irvine.

Workers noticed an odor and investigated by moving some of the rolls, revealing the body, Cade said. The death was being investigated as a “strictly accidental” incident, Cade said. The incident may also be investigated by state workplace safety inspectors, he said.