Student Finds Clothed Remains with What Appeared to Be ‘Decaying Hair’
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NEED TO KNOW
- A student cross-country runner was in the woods near an Ohio high school and discovered clothed skeletal remains on Oct. 1
- Although the school said they weren’t initially sure whether the discovery was real, police later confirmed that they were human
- An investigation is ongoing
A student runner came across fully-dressed skeletal remains in the woods near an Ohio high school earlier this week, according to officials.
On the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 1, Nick Jarrell, the assistant principal of La Salle High School in Monfort Heights, called 911 to report that one a student had found human remains that were still clad in a hoodie and pants, NBC affiliate WLWT and The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
“A kid on our cross-country team went into the woods and found, I mean, I don’t know if it’s real or not, a skeleton in full outfit with a phone in its pocket,” the school official told the 911 dispatcher, according to WLWT.
“There’s, like, it looks to be decaying hair on the skull,” said Jarrell, who noted that the remains were above ground, according to the outlet.
The assistant principal said that the clothing appeared to belong to a man.
The Green Township Police Department went on to address the discovery in a statement on social media, saying they had “responded to the scene and confirmed the report.”
As the investigation continued, officials said in an update that preliminary evidence led them to believe that they’d positively identified the victim.
“At this time, there is no evidence to suggest any foul play is involved,” said police, who did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further comment.
When local Paul King first learned about the news from his son, he was in disbelief, WLWT reported.
“I said, ‘Was it, like, a decoration?’” King told the outlet. “He said, ‘No, they have the coroner and everything up there.’ ”
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The man did recall noticing a bad smell in the area months ago, according to FOX affiliate WXIX.
“That’s kind of frightening,” he told the outlet about what the runner found.
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It is unclear how long the remains were in the woods, and police have not released additional information about the incident.
When reached by PEOPLE on Friday, Oct. 3, the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office could not share the identity of the deceased and said that their cause and manner of death remain pending.
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
