Father and 6-Year-Old Son Find Skull on Tenn. Nature Walk, Prompting Search for Human Remains

Mar. 15, 2025

A man and his 6-year-old son came upon a human skull earlier this month while on a nature walk in North Nashville, prompting authorities to later search the area for human remains.

TheMetropolitan Nashville Police Departmentsaid in a Friday, Jan. 17, news release that the authorities were conducting a search in a wooded area off Kirk Avenue for additional remains after the skull was discovered on Jan. 2.

“The skull, which does not match any local missing persons from that area, is believed to be a male, age 28-48, who died within the last two years,” police said.

Initially, Gabriel, who was taking pictures with a cellphone, thought what he saw was a turtle in a creek, But it turned out to be something quite different.

“I’m looking and investigating myself,” he further told the outlet, “so I could be sure who to call and what to say.”

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The father contacted law enforcement, and cold case detectives and other personnel were called in two weeks later to check for possible remains.

A police spokesperson tells PEOPLE on Thursday, Jan. 23, that authorities are currently working on positively identifying the remains. They went on to note there is no evidence of foul play at this time.

“My mother held on to hope that the individual responsible would be caught and that she would get closure," he said. “I just want the same for the family of this person.”

source: people.com