According to St. Pete Police Department, a skull found by a jogger in St. Petersburg has been confirmed to be decomposed human remains, too advanced in decomposition to visually identify age, gender or ethnicity at this time.
Investigators have been searching the immediate area for further remains; however no other body parts have been located at this time.
A jogger notified police yesterday afternoon, around 7 a.m., after discovery a human skull remains near the intersection of 38th Ave. S and 31st St. S. Traffic was shut down and redirected as 38th Ave. S was closed as police searched the area for more remains, asking the public to avoid the area.
Police spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez said that “A lot of people might have thought it was just an animal but she perceived it really did look like a human.”
Officials added that it was unclear how long the head had been there.
Police believe the incident occurred in the last 48 hours because the jogger told them she ran in the same area on Sunday and saw nothing unusual and did not jog in the area on Tuesday.
The skull has been forwarded to the Medical Examiner for further information and a possible identification.
“We are asking the public if they saw anything suspicious, to let us know,” Fernandez told CNN by phone. “We’ve had a few tips come in and we’re tracking them down.”
Fernandez said they don’t believe the person died at this location.
“There’s no active crime scene,” she said.
Investigators asked anyone who might have information about this case to call the St. Petersburg Police Department at (727) 893-7780.
