Missing teen discovered crushed to death by recycling truck

A young man from New Jersey who had been reported missing was found crushed to death at a recycling center in Pennsylvania after a night out with friends, reports say.

Around 8:40 a.m. Saturday morning, police were called to Total Recycle Inc. in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, after workers there had discovered a dead body. Because of his "unique" tattoos, Kellen Bischoff, 19, of Manahawkin, New Jersey, was quickly identified as the victim.

Bischoff had recently traveled to nearby Kutztown, Pennsylvania, about two and a half hours northwest of Manahawkin, to visit family. On Friday evening, he had attended a party near the campus of Kutztown University.

Surveillance footage showed Bischoff climbing into a dumpster behind a Dollar Tree in Kutztown in the early hours of Saturday morning. A recycling truck came and collected the contents of the dumpster several hours later, at which time, Bischoff was likely compressed with the rest of the contents.

While autopsy and toxicology reports are still pending, preliminary autopsy results indicate that his injuries "were consistent with having been dumped into and later compressed by the trash truck." There is no indication of foul play.

Bischoff graduated from high school with honors in May and had been a member of his school wrestling team. But his true passion seemed to be music. He had a scholarship to study music at Full Sail University, and he was also a drummer in a local band.

Here is a video Bischoff posted to his Instagram account on October 12:

His former bandmates are devastated by the loss.

"Kellen was the drummer in our band Hellfire and was a dear friend of all of ours," bandmate Julian Contreras wrote in a GoFundMe account established in Bischoff's honor. "He was very dedicated and passionate about music and our band."

An obituary described Bischoff as having an "infectious" and "fun-loving' personality that "left an impression on all who knew him," the Daily Mail reported.

Bischoff is survived by his parents, Patty and Mike, his twin brother Nathaniel, and his little sister Raegan. There will be a memorial for Bischoff held on Sunday at the Maxwell-Tobie Funeral Home in Manahawkin. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations in Bischoff’s memory be made to Pointer Rescue, Happy Paws Rescue and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

"Continue to pound those skins our mighty Irish warrior and we will be listening and we will hear you," the obituary added.