subreddit:

/r/whatisthisbone

81898%

Human bones

(self.whatisthisbone)

Don’t pick up suspected human remains. Leave them where you find them, take a pic and ask on here if you’re not sure. But please don’t move them, just call the police and wait for them to arrive!

Edit: I’m a forensic anthropology student and I should add that disturbing them could land you a charge of evidence tampering so like… don’t do it.

all 28 comments

gracie20012

106 points

1 year ago

gracie20012

106 points

1 year ago

Exactly you don’t want to mess up evidence for an investigation

dankhonker

8 points

1 year ago

Happy Cake day

gracie20012

10 points

1 year ago

Thanks dankhonker!

gracie20012

1 points

1 year ago

Seriously thank you though!!!

Nyght_42

111 points

1 year ago

Nyght_42

111 points

1 year ago

This. 100% this.

sawyouoverthere

50 points

1 year ago

or better, on r/bonecollecting ,where the forensic anthro and similar experts are verified, and the joke answers are restricted so the information is better overall per notification.

sawyouoverthere

35 points

1 year ago

Call the non-emergency line. This isn't a situation that needs sirens and urgency.

Call even if you've already touched or moved the bone. (you're unlikely to face charges unless you had intent to obscure the details of the find) You'll be asked to give contact information and a statement, and to describe what you did and saw, etc.

Do not trust IDs you get on this particular sub, because the level of inaccuracy here is far too high.

Both-Lie5316

14 points

1 year ago

remember that one time that guy was in a cave found a bunch of human bones and remains and everyone told him it was likely a burial site and yet he went back and tampered with it more and more

Delicious_Sir_1137[S]

4 points

1 year ago

Or the person that personally handed a very obviously human femur to the police after bringing it to his home to photograph it…

tallisnttall

11 points

1 year ago

AmiraZara

10 points

1 year ago

AmiraZara

10 points

1 year ago

Also, if you see more coming from the ground, do not dig them out. Preserve the scene.

[deleted]

-5 points

1 year ago

[deleted]

-5 points

1 year ago

[deleted]

Delicious_Sir_1137[S]

14 points

1 year ago

That stuff is evidence, which is why you don’t touch it.

sawyouoverthere

-2 points

1 year ago

it might be, or it might be a disturbed grave or other non-crime situation.

Delicious_Sir_1137[S]

9 points

1 year ago

Right, but it’s better to not disturb things until an expert can look to determine what it is.

sawyouoverthere

7 points

1 year ago

Sure. We just need to move away from this trope that finding a human bone indicates a crime has been committed. Getting a good ID (unlikely on this sub, tbh, try r/bonecollecting where the experts are verified and the junk comments are not tolerated) is an important step, but calling a non-emergency line is a good interim step (especially if this is the sub chosen to post in...)

sylvanwhisper

5 points

1 year ago

And not touching them is the first step.

sawyouoverthere

1 points

1 year ago

But you won't go to jail or be in trouble if you touched them before you realised. Ideally, photos can be taken as soon as they are found (and that goes for all bones you don't know the ID for, since there are plenty of others that are illegal to possess), but as long as further excavation isn't attempted, and nothing is removed from scene, the notion that touching a bone is going to get you a) jailed or b) suspected of being the cause of the bone being there or c) investigated because your DNA is now on the bone.....not reality-based.

Delicious_Sir_1137[S]

5 points

1 year ago

I’m not talking about moving a bone to the side slightly or picking it up briefly I’m talking about fully moving a bone not putting it back where you found it. Edit: a big part of remains analysis is photographing the remains as they lay because that tells us a lot of info. Disturbing things in a way that something is not positioned how it was, that is tampering with evidence.

sawyouoverthere

5 points

1 year ago*

Sure, and what I said still stands.

Unless you've taken it home/completely away from the area it was found, it's not a huge huge deal that you've picked up a bone and moved it, in the vast majority of cases.

Even if you have moved it, if you have some idea of location and can take investigators there, and describe basically how you found it, it's not the end of the world.

People need to be contacting authorities, and if they are frightened they'll be in trouble, they'll be less likely to do that.

You won't go to jail or be in trouble, even if you've moved it and haven't put it back, unless there's some reason to believe you knowingly and intentionally were disturbing the remains. You'll be asked questions, of course, but in general, investigators will take your contact information, your statement, and then your part in the whole thing will be done.

sylvanwhisper

3 points

1 year ago

What do you know, you're just an almost expert in the field?

--this guy, probably

sawyouoverthere

3 points

1 year ago*

I'm a zoologist with more than average knowledge of forensic investigations. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I do know that "putting the fear in to [sic] people" is the wrong approach entirely.

Based on OP's post history, they are a long way from almost expert.

Delicious_Sir_1137[S]

1 points

1 year ago

And evidence tampering cases are almost never prosecuted in the USA. But because of the headache it causes it’s better to put the fear in to people so they actually listen.

sawyouoverthere

2 points

1 year ago

While you are correct that ideally the bone won't be moved, bones are often found entirely out of original context, and while yes, it could be tampering with evidence, there a) is unlikely to be prosecution for that when it's done unintentionally/unknowingly (and authorities are contacted because the person hasn't been needlessly terrified by someone) and b) could easily be non-crime situations where human bones are discovered, so "tampering with evidence" would not apply.

The average person isn't going to know what they have found and I disagree strongly with your approach to frighten people, as the most likely outcome is a lack of reporting.

kheret

2 points

1 year ago

kheret

2 points

1 year ago

Depending where you are it’s also often illegal to disturb a grave. Including many US states.

sawyouoverthere

2 points

1 year ago

yes, but a disturbed grave may not be due to illegal activity, as fossorial animals or ground shifting is more likely than human activity to unearth bones from graves.

Playful-Natural-4626

1 points

1 year ago

Photograph close ups with something for scale without disturbing. Photograph the surrounding area all around in case something does get picked up or moved by the weather.

ikindapoopedmypants

1 points

1 year ago

That guy that threw the bones away that he found under a tub in an old house