A beloved Easter tradition took a dark turn when a child reportedly found what is believed to be an infant skull instead of chocolate-filled Easter eggs during their town’s annual egg hunt.
Authorities received reports of the ghastly discovery at around 5 p.m. on Sunday at DeForest Park in Long Beach, California.
“At first, we saw the family there, doing like an Easter egg hunt, but they were freaking out a little bit. I can only imagine, like for them, finding a dead, another kid. Must be tragic for them,” a witness, Marc Zaldana, told KCBS.
The skull was also accompanied by other smaller bones that seemed to belong to a baby. The scene has since been covered by a canopy. Police confirmed Monday afternoon that the discovered remains were human, according to KTLA.
“Members from the DME’s Special Operations Response Team (SORT) recovered a skeletonized human skull and mandible and brought the recovered remains to the Forensic Science Center for further examination,” a statement by the L.A. County Medical Examiner’s Office read.
Aerial footage showed colored eggs on a path near what appeared to be a partially excavated skull in the ground, CBS reported.
Longtime Long Beach resident Jessica Flores told KTLA she had never heard of anything so tragic taking place in her community.
“It hurts because if it’s a child, that’s very sad,” she said. “I just hope they figure out whose child this is.”
The medical examiner’s office could take up to three weeks to determine whether the remains can be identified through dental records, fingerprints, or DNA, but for more complex cases involving skeletal remains, the process can stretch into months or even years, Lt. Benjamin Vargas told the Los Angeles Times.
The Long Beach Police Department told The U.S. Sun that the investigation is ongoing and that it is awaiting additional information, including a medical report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“As of this morning, there are no updates to share. Officers remain on scene at De Forest Park, and we are awaiting the response of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office’s forensic anthropologist team,” the police department told The Daily Beast.
“It’s just so sad what happened, and then on Easter Sunday. And then for kids to find it, that’s very disturbing,” Long Beach resident George G. told KTLA. “We’ve just got to leave it to the authorities, they know what to do.”
