Police were called to a Greater Manchester cemetery in the UK after an eight-year-old boy who was playing in the graveyard with two other children found three skulls.
Investigators believe the boy stumbled on a “historic burial site” in the woods next to Dukinfield Cemetery. Area police have confirmed that there is no crime and no crime scene investigation; they believe the skulls have been there a very long time and were brought to the surface by animals.
The young boy was playing with his sister and another friend when he found the bones. Identified as “Mikey,” the kid appears to be getting a headstart on his future career. He says he wants to be an archaeologist when he grows up. Mikey told police that he was shocked to find the skulls because he plays in the area all the time, and they were not there last week. “Then yesterday, they were right there on the ground,” Mikey said.
Mikey’s father said he did not believe his son initially, and sent the boy back out to the woods with a phone to take photos. Turns out Mikey was telling the truth. The father said the children were not spooked by their discovery, even though “it’s not every day” that your young child “finds a skull at the back of your house.”
Local interest was intense, considering how many officers swarmed over the area. One witness said there was a “major police presence” at the cemetery on Sunday, and that the surrounding area was “fully closed down.” Detective Inspector Christopher Dean thanked the local residents for their patience during the investigation, and that police had wrapped it up and there was no criminal activity to be worried about. He said “these bones have resurfaced due to wildlife in the local area.”
The Tameside Council (the local municipal government) said they would make sure the remains were handled “sensitively,” and returned to their original burial site. It is not clear exactly what such handling would entail.
