Massachusetts State Police have recovered what appears to be part of a human skull in the woods off Route 3 in Plymouth, officials said.
The skull was discovered earlier this month by a man searching the woods for deer antlers, according to Plymouth Police Chief Dana Flynn.
The man reported his discovery to Plymouth police on the morning of March 6 and led police to the location off Route 3 north of exit 13 (Long Pond Road). He told them he hadn’t touched it, according to a police report.
Plymouth detectives described the skull as green, weathered and small, without a jaw.
Plymouth Detective Robert Shaw contacted the Massachusetts State Crime Lab for analysis, according to the report.
Shaw sent photos to a Massachusetts State Crime Lab forensic scientist, who said the skull appeared to be human.
Shaw also sent photos to the state medical examiner’s office, which in less than an hour, also confirmed the skull was likely human.
Plymouth police say they have a crime analyst who may be able to produce records of everyone reported missing in the area in the past five years.
Troopers returned Thursday to the area, near Pilgrim Pride apartments on South Street. They came with cadaver dogs to search for additional bones or other evidence, officials said. They found additional items, but officials did not provide specifics.
State Police planned to have the items tested for DNA, and further examined in an effort to determine how long the skull had been there and to provide any other potentially identifying information, officials said.
State Police estimated the skull had been in the location — between exits 13 and 15 — for three to five years, officials said.
There are several missing persons in Plymouth County, according to the website Spot Crime.
Among them is Sandra Crispo, a mother and grandmother from Hanson, whose disappearance in August 2019 was widely publicized.
Crispo, 54, was last seen on Aug. 7, 2019. She had recently moved to Hanson from Quincy to be closer to her daughter, Laina McMahon and her family, including her three grandsons.
McMahon reported her mother’s disappearance to the police Aug. 9 after she went to Crispo’s house and found it empty with the lights and air conditioning on, the back door unlocked and her dog in the house with no food or water.
Officials, however, did not give any indication that the search was related to the Crispo case.
On Thursday morning, a long row of State Police cruisers and unmarked vehicles were parked along Route 3 North, sparking wild online speculation.
Several people posted photos on the All Things Plymouth Facebook page, asking what was going on.
State police wouldn’t say, issuing only a terse statement that said they were “conducting a search as part of an ongoing investigation. There is no threat to public safety, and no further information is available at this time.”
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.