This is one of those "it can't be true" type stories that gets more and more bizarre the longer the time passes. It would be funny if it wasn't true - and pretty sad.

Fox 31 in Denver reports that a Loveland man has been missing for almost a month. His last known location had him on camera in an unincorporated part of Larimer County, literally climbing into a dumpster. But here's the thing... he never came out. And shortly thereafter, a garbage truck came by and emptied the dumpster, taking it to the landfill.

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The Larimer County Sheriff's Office and other agencies spent four days searching the landfill only to come up empty. They said the search area contained over 10,000 cubic yards of solid waste, searched by people, heavy equipment, cadaver dogs and more. No sign of the man.

“While many questions remain unanswered, our team went to considerable efforts in hopes of locating (the man),” said Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen in a press release from the Sheriff's Office. “We couldn’t have gone to such lengths without the hard manual labor of our crew and help of our partners at Larimer County Solid Waste and LCSAR. All human life holds value, and these folks demonstrated that through their unwavering dedication to this tough operation.”

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The Sheriff's Office has not yet come up with a valid reason why the man could have entered the dumpster and he is still being considered a missing person until found. Anyone with information that may assist in the resolution of this case may contact LCSO Investigator Brent Manley at 970-498-5336.

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Gallery Credit: Wes Adams