WHIDBEY ISLAND — Police have gotten hold of a skull found on a Whidbey Island beach in November.
They think it may be evidence in a homicide.
Two people found the skull Nov. 26 in the surf at Useless Bay near Maxwelton Road. One of them took the skull home to Mercer Island and kept it
in a garage, said Ed Wallace, a detective with the Island County Sheriff’s Office.
They later realized that keeping human remains was illegal, he said.
Medical experts have estimated that the skull belongs to a man who was between 18 and 35 and likely died within the last 10 years. The skull has two places where it sustained sharp force trauma from something such as an ax, hatchet or machete, Wallace said.
The skull likely belongs to a homicide victim, he said. Deputies are checking missing-person reports going back a few more years just in case.
They also have asked police agencies around the state to look for matching cases.
Leads have already started trickling in.
Samples from the skull have been sent to multiple crime labs for DNA testing, he said. The genetic profiles will be run through DNA databases seeking a match.
Based on the skull’s condition, investigators believe it was on land until recently, Wallace said. It may have found its way into Puget Sound during recent high tides.
Dogs trained in finding cadavers searched the beach on Thursday without results, Wallace said. Another search is planned soon.
Anyone with information about the skull should call detectives at 360-678-7968.
It doesn’t appear as if the people who had the skull will be investigated for a crime, Wallace said.
“It’s not like they were trying to hide anything,” he said.
Investigators remind people that if they find human remains, they should call police. People often find bones they don’t realize are human, Wallace said. Anyone who has found strange bones in the same area as the skull should call.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com
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