Campers Uncover Skull at Scenic Park: Police

Iowa campers came across a possible human skull in a popular park, according to investigators.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) said campers at Yellow Banks Park in Pleasant Hill, just east of Des Moines, found the skull at about 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 16. Yellow Banks Park spans an estimated 552 acres and is very popular among hikers and campers who come to see its views of the countryside.

No other human remains were found in the area and officers are working alongside the Medical Examiner's Office to determine whether the skull is real, according to ABC affiliate WOI-DT.

According to the network, Captain Ryan Evans said: "It's possible human remains. And the reason I say that is because it has to go through a battery of tests to make sure it's legit, make sure they, you know, get as much information from that evidence as they can."

Evans did not share any further comment about the skull, including how long it might have been at the location.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS) stated there are currently 105 open missing persons cases in Iowa, 13 of which are unidentified persons. It added there are 129 resolved missing person cases in Iowa and that 14 of those are resolved unidentified person cases.

Across the U.S. there are 23,286 open missing person cases and 14,448 of those are recorded as being unidentified persons.

There are also 34,341 resolved missing persons cases, of which 6,421 have been recorded as being unidentified persons.

NamUs said: "Between 2007 and 2020, an average of 664,776 missing person records annually were entered into the National Crime Information Center."

Newsweek has contacted the PCSO and the Office of the State Medical Examiner for comment via email.

There have been numerous occasions where human skeletons have been found in locations across the U.S.

In May, construction workers in Tallahassee, Florida, uncovered the remains of a skeleton near a middle school.

Findings indicated the remains are likely human, according to the Tallahassee Police Department.

"This is an open and active investigation and updates will be provided as more information becomes available," Tallahassee police said in a Twitter post. Police added that it was unclear if foul play was involved in the persons death.

A number of human remains have also been located in Nevada's Lake Mead after the reservoir's water levels reached a record low in 2022.

Documents from the Clark County Coroner's Office, obtained by Las Vegas TV station KLAS, said the three sets of human remains found on July 25, August 6, and August 16 belonged to one man, Claude Russell Pensinger, 52, who was last seen in July 1998.