Authorities in Michigan have launched an investigation following the tragic discovery of a United States Postal Service worker found deceased inside a mail processing machine.

The victim, identified as 36-year-old Nicholas Aker, was a maintenance worker at the USPS facility in Allen Park. His body was discovered several hours after his fiancée raised concerns, as he had not returned home from his shift. According to reports from WDIV, it is estimated that Aker had been dead for six to eight hours before being found.

Though police have deemed Aker’s death “accidental,” the circumstances surrounding how he became trapped in the machine, which is used for weighing and sorting packages, remain unclear.

Aker’s fiancée shared with WDIV that he had been employed at the facility for approximately a year. The investigation, led by federal authorities due to the incident occurring on federal property, is ongoing, as reported by CBS.

[Feature Photo: WDIV]