The skull discovered at a Chelsea Goodwill store in January has been turned over to the FBI for further testing, including DNA analysis, the Chelsea Police Department announced in an Aug. 18 update.
Chelsea Police Chief Kevin Kazyak said the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s office, with assistance from the University of Michigan Anthropology Department, has concluded the skull belonged to an African American female who was between 20 and 49 years old at the time of death. It is not yet known how long ago the person died.
“The skull is well-preserved, skeletonized, dry, and there are traces of adherent soil on it,” the department said in its release. “There are no signs of trauma to the skull, and no indications that it was used as a medical or teaching specimen.”
Police say they have followed up on more than two dozen tips from the public, but have not yet identified the person who dropped the skull off at Goodwill.
The skull was first discovered on Jan. 26, when police responded to “a call from our local Goodwill store about the discovery of a possible human skull within donated clothing,” according to the department. The Medical Examiner’s office determined the skull was human and sent it for examination.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Officer T. Gilbreath at (734) 475-9122 ext. 107 or [email protected].
