A man’s body has been recovered after it was found inside a pipe at an abandoned power plant in Fort Worth on Wednesday.
Fort Worth police officers and firefighters responded about 10 a.m. to the former TXU North Main Power Plant in the 400 block of N. Main St. after a caller reported seeing the body about 10 feet down inside a pipe, according to 911 call records.
Two teenagers exploring the building found the body. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not determined the cause or manner of death, though it appears the man probably fell down the pipe, according to a police source.
The medical examiner’s office will identify the man, who appears to have been dead for some time, a source told Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
Tarrant County College District police are leading the investigation, authorities said. The old power plant is in the Panther Island area north of downtown Fort Worth and the Trinity River.
The college has owned the property since 2004 and tried to sell it last year as development interest grew related to Panther Island waterfront district.
A 27-year-old woman died when she fell 50 feet down a shaft near the plant in April 2025.
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“Tarrant County College is working closely with Fort Worth Fire and Police to assess the current situation at the former TXU Power Plant,” a TCC spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday. “Please avoid the area while Fort Worth Fire and Police conduct their investigation.”
Further details will be shared as information becomes available, the spokesperson said.
The plant was built in 1912 for Fort Worth Power & Light. Its 265-foot smokestacks were steam-driven, using river water to generate electricity for neighboring homes, downtown buildings and the Stockyards’ meatpacking operations.
Staff writer Emerson Clarridge contributed to this report.