Grisly discovery in Humboldt County takes a turn: Suspected animal bones could be human

At first authorities thought the remains found near a Humboldt County river were just animal bones.

Now they’re not so sure, and the search is on for more of what could be human remains.

The macabre discovery was made by a Redway resident who was swimming in the Eel River on July 6, when they saw what appeared to be animal bones, according to the website Redheaded Blackbelt.

When the resident removed the bone pieces from the sand, they thought that they were actually a human tibia, broken near the ankle, according to the website.

The resident sent photos to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, who in turn gave the investigation to the coroner’s office.

The coroner’s office initially determined the bones “unlikely to be human,” but sought a second opinion from outside experts. That’s when the mystery deepened.

“To conduct further confirmation of the bone’s origin, the Coroner’s Office elected to have the bone examined by anthropologists, who have deemed the bone as possibly human — further examination is pending,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement released Tuesday.

Authorities are conducting follow-up searches at the river location for additional bones with the help of cadaver dogs.