Human bones at historic site may not be old, Florida cops say. Investigation underway

An archaeologist working at a Florida historical site stumbled onto a human bone above ground, raising suspicions a more recent death had been uncovered.

The discovery was made Feb. 28 in New Smyrna Beach, a coastal city known to host historical and archaeological sites of national and international importance. New Smyrna Beach is about 55 miles northeast of Orlando.

“New Smyrna Beach police officers were notified a human bone was located in a wooded area in the 1700 block of North Dixie Freeway,” police said in a news release.

“An archaeologist employed by the city ... located the bone while working in a documented historical site. Patrol officers responded to the scene and were able to identify several other bones, to include a human skull.”

Detectives and investigators with the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office found about 30 bones, police said.

Photos show the discoveries were made above ground, among limbs and leaves.

“At this time the identity, race, and sex of the individual is unknown and the investigation is ongoing,” police said.

“DNA will be utilized in an effort to identify the person and detectives are working toward identifying a cause of death.”

Investigators did not identify the historical site, which is near the New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport.

New Smyrna Beach has an archaeological preservation program that includes pre-Columbian villages and British settlements, the city reports. It is forbidden for artifacts at the sites to be tampered with, including humans remains.

“Human skeletal remains, uncovered, recovered, or discovered during testing, salvage archaeology, excavation, or monitoring shall be coordinated with the local medical examiner, the city, city archaeologist, and the state archaeologist,” the city reports.

This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 1:02 PM with the headline "Human bones at historic site may not be old, Florida cops say. Investigation underway."