Resident Hands Over Whidbey Island Human Skull 3 Months After Discovery

A portion of a human skull found by two Mercer Island beachcombers on Whidbey Island last Thanksgiving—then forgotten in a garage for three months— has launched an Island County Sheriffs homicide investigation.

The two women were visiting the area on a holiday weekend Nov. 26 and walking along the beach of Useless Bay near Maxwelton Road, according to an Island County Sheriffs press release, when they discovered the human skull and took it home to Mercer Island.

Police say one of the women was unsure of the nature of the remains and wanted to keep it. She returned home and packed away the cranium in her garage. Detective Pete Erickson said the woman had forgotten about the skull fragment until she read a story in the concerning the discovery of a human skull in an estate sale. She turned the skull over to Mercer Island Police on Feb. 2.

"When people come across these objects ... If you find bones or remains that you think could possibly human then you need to call 911," Erickson said. "It's real common, especially in rural counties in the state, that sheriffs are called about bones that people think are human."

confirmed that detectives turned the skull over to the King County Medical Examiner's Office. According to the press release, King County forensic anthropologist Dr. Kathy Taylor performed an analysis on the skull and said in a preliminary finding that the skull came from a male under 35 years old who died up to 10 years earlier. Island County sheriff's detective Ed Wallace said the skull was damaged in two distinct areas by a sharp object—possibly by an ax, hatchet or machete, indicating the man was a homicide victim.

Wallace said a search for more remains of the body were conducted Feb. 17 with specially trained cadaver dogs but were cancelled due to unfavorable weather conditions. A future search is being scheduled.

"Based on the condition of the skull it is believed that it did not spend any significant time in the water and most likely washed down the beach to the water line from the prior day’s high tide," Wallace said. "It is unclear whether a body may have washed up on the beach and went undetected or a body was discarded in the area and went undetected."

The medical examiner is attempting to gather a DNA sample from the remains, but using only bone fragments may make that difficult, said King County spokesperson James Apa. Due to the skull missing the lower portions of the face and jaw, no reconstruction of the head is possible at this point, Apa said.

"If more of the skull could be located that may allow us to get more info about who this person might be," he said. "It's also important to note that DNA analysis takes a long time—and might not be successful."

Mercer Island Detective Pete Erickson lamented the fact that so little of the remains had been found and the identity may never be determined.

"That's the sad thing about this, we might not ever know," he said. "It could be years until we figure out who it is. Like the (convicted serial killer Gary) Ridgeway victims, we may have to wait a long time."

Anyone who might have any additional information about the identity of this subject, or, who may have collected what they believed to be animal bones along the Useless Bay beaches over the past decade are asked to contact Detective Ed Wallace with the Island County Sheriff’s office at 360-678-7968.