Looking through the store’s Halloween area over the weekend, a woman visiting a nearby antique shop discovered much more than a nice deal.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office reports that on Saturday, Nov. 4, a woman who just so happens to be anthropology was browsing the store when she saw a skull and identified it to be human.” Investigators from the Major Crimes Unit arrived at the establishment to investigate after she made contact with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
It was also established by on-site investigators that the skull matched a human. The owner allegedly informed authorities that the skull had been bought several years prior and had been kept in a storage container. The circumstances are “not suspicious in nature,” according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Antique Shop’s Mysterious Skull Discovery Raises Questions
In an interview with Newsweek, Capt. Anita Iriarte of the Lee County Sheriff’s Agency stated that this case was “absolutely different” because a shop selling antiques does not usually contact the agency to report “that there’s a human skull on the floor.”
According to Iriarte, the skull will be examined by the local office of the medical examiner before being sent to Gainesville for more examination.
Newsweek was told by Iriarte, “It was discovered in a Halloween section.” According to accounts, during the Fossil Day celebration at the antique shop, a female anthropologist was shopping when she discovered the skull and said, “This is not a Halloween decoration.”
According to preliminary investigation, the skull is roughly 75 years old and the bones don’t seem to have been damaged. She went on to say, “There’s no evidence that compels them to think this skull has been stored by mysterious means of any kind.”
According to reports, the woman who discovered the skull believes it may belong to a Native American. “The anthropologist came into the retail location and delivered a very informative and educational description as to why she believed it was Native American,” Paradise Vintage Market managing partner Beth Meyer told Newsweek. After entering, the medical examiner bagged and labelled the skull and brought it to the lab for examination. If it is Native American, a ceremony will be held and it will be given back to one of the nearby tribes.”