Where did it come from? Medical examiner confirms skull found on lot in Wauwatosa is human
WAUWATOSA -- The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an analysis of remains recovered from a construction site in the area of Underwood and Milwaukee Avenues in Wauwatosa on January 20th. Analysis confirmed a human skull was among the remains found.
Human remains found on lot in Wauwatosa
The medical examiner said based upon the condition of the skull and material found with it, the skull is estimated to be decades old.
The skull will be sent to the University of North Texas – Center for Human Identification for further analysis by a forensic anthropologist.
Meanwhile, investigators are turning to the town's history for clues.
PHOTO GALLERY
Crews are building a house from the ground up near Underwood and Milwaukee Avenues. A hole was already dug and the concrete workers were there on Friday to start pouring. That came to a halt when someone found what looked an awful lot like a skull.
A new house is going up after the old place sat vacant for years before being demolished.
Neighbors said the last guy there had a hoarding problem.
There was no activity Monday at the construction site.
Carol Rosen
"We're all curious, of course," Carol Rosen with the Wauwatosa Historical Society said. "I was watching the Packers game and my daughter said 'oh, did you hear about this body on Underwood?' Then Natalie called me this morning and said the police had been here."
Rosen and Wauwatosa Historical Society Natalie Wysong took a look at an old map of Wauwatosa -- seeking answers. They found that about two blocks from the construction site, where two churches now stand, there was a cemetery. Some of Wauwatosa's first settlers were buried there.
By the late 1860s, the remains were moved to what is still Wauwatosa Cemetery.
Wauwatosa Cemetery
"This is what the archives indicate, but there are no names or ideas about how they were transferred or when they were transferred," Rosen said.
Rosen said given the distance and record of remains being moved, it would be a surprise if the skull originated there.
"This being a couple blocks away, I`m not picturing it as being part of the land, but we really don`t know," Rosen said. "Even if it`s nothing mysterious or if it`s nothing criminal, there`s a still a story behind why someone is buried there."
It could take months to get answers from Texas.
Rosen said her next task is finding the actual deed from the old cemetery, which would confirm just how big it was.
Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.