Animal bones found in Newport Coast

Several back bones that were found in a Newport Coast area south of

Pelican Hill on Sunday afternoon were determined to be animal bones,

police said Tuesday.

An officer working on speed enforcement in Newport Coast happened to

spot the bones, with the ribs attached, about 2,500 feet south of Pelican

Hill North, a police report said.

The officer also spotted what he described as an “old blue sweatshirt”

about 2 feet away from the bones.

The Orange County coroner sent the bones to an anthropologist who

determined the bones were “not human and recent,” officials said.

It is not uncommon to find animal bones locally, said Newport Beach

Police Sgt. Steve Shulman.

“It doesn’t look like a prank,” he said. “The sweatshirt seems to be a

mere coincidence.”

In April, a Costa Mesa couple on Federal Avenue reported to the police

that they found a bone while raking the backyard. After tests, the Orange

County coroner determined the bone was the lower portion of a human

jawbone.

Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney said it turned out that the jawbone

was brought by the previous owner of the home after he found it on a

beach in Mexico.

“He just happened to have disposed of it in his backyard,” he said.

Birney said a forensic pathologist determined that the jawbone had

“weathered the elements” for about 40 or 50 years.