Lehigh woman finds human jawbone on beach, unknowingly tosses it in bag with seashells

A local woman was collecting seashells on a Captiva beach when she found a unique item that appears to be a human jaw bone, officials said.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call Wednesday evening from Rebecca Dodds’ home in Lehigh Acres Wednesday night, according to an incident report obtained by the USA TODAY Network. Dodds could not immediately be reached for an interview, but she told deputies that she had been collecting shells and didn’t realize she picked up a human mandible until she got home, the report states.

“I thought I found a whalebone or something, and I just threw it in my shell bag,” Dodds told local outlet WINK news. “It’s still surreal right now. It’s kind of disbelief, but at the same time, I’m curious. It’s very sad. I do hope they can find out who. This person has a story,”

LCSO is working with the District 21 Medical Examiner’s Office to try to determine the origin and any other information about the discovery, spokesperson Sarah Rodriguez said.

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If the medical examiner determines the bone is older than 75 years old, it will be turned over the State Archaeologist, according to Florida Public Archaeology Network region director Sara Ayers-Rigsby. State Archaeologist Kathryn O’Donnell Miyar, part of the Florida Division of Historical Resources, will work to determine the cultural and biological origins of the remains.

If no clear connection is found by the State Archaeologist, she will consult with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, according to state statute.

The State Archaeologist’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Based on photos of the remains, Ayers-Rigsby said she does believe the jaw bone belongs to a human.

Many of Florida’s archaeological sites are on beaches, she said, and she urged people to refrain from collecting seashells in case they are treasured archaeological sites. She also said that people should show respect for the person this bone once belonged to, and praised Dodds for calling law enforcement to help find answers.

“It’s important to note that human remains were living people at some point in the past so we want to acknowledge that when we are trying to reunite the remains with the descendants of that community,” Ayers-Rigsby said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Human jawbone found on Florida beach. Woman thought it was a whale’s