Children find human skeleton remains; investigation launched

WASHINGTON (TND) — A group of children at a summer school made quite the discovery during an outdoor excursion in a Massachusetts city -- human remains.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette noted students and staff from Biocitizen, Inc., which is based in Westhampton, were participating in a environmental philosophy program in nearby Greenfield when they found skeletal remains on Wednesday morning.

A 7-year-old boy reportedly discovered the bones, with another child later spotting a skull, while they were exploring Rawson Island in Greenfield.

Laurie Loisel, a spokeswoman with the Northwestern District Attorney's Office, told the media outlet the Greenfield Police Department recovered some of the bones, adding that a medical examiner responded to scene the next day.

“So, this is very much an open investigation,” Loisel told the media outlet Friday morning.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette spoke to Kurt Heidinger, who founded the school in 2009. He said one child initially found the bones and another discovered the skull.

At first, he said he thought it was an animal skull -- until he got a closer look.

“I said, ‘Oh, my goodness, that is a human skull,’” he told the media outlet.

He also said everyone in the group gathered around the skull out of curiosity when the severity of the scene set in.

“This isn’t 'Pirates of the Caribbean' -- this a human being that somehow ended up here," he told the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Rawson Island is an island on Montague Power Canal Reservoir in Massachusetts. It is located in the middle of the Connecticut River.