The story behind the human remains found on Halloween remains a mystery

The identity of the human remains found by a Palmetto resident on Halloween remains a mystery as of Thursday, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

“We know that the bones are that of a human being,” sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren said. “We are not ready to speculate on who it might be.”

Moments before 1 p.m. Wednesday, a local resident was walking through a field near the intersection of 16th Avenue East and 61st Street East looking for bamboo sticks when he came across the remains. Investigators were able to confirm within hours that the remains were human.

The sheriff’s office is not ready to release any details about who the remains could belong to, including whether they belong to a man or woman.

But investigators estimate the remains had been out in the field for a few months at least, according to Warren.

The human remains are currently in the possession of the medial examiner’s office, which is working to see if an identification can be made using dental records or DNA. If an identification cannot be made, an anthropologist may have to be consulted.

“We are always looking at missing person cases in our area, mysterious cases of people disappearing,” Warren said. “That is going to be one of our focuses.”