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Playing Kids Find Skull, Human Bones In Davisville
May 8, 2013
Two boys playing in a dirt pile at the edge of a Davisville cemetery discovered apparent human remains early Tuesday evening.
The boys found a skull along with additional bones and metal handles that appeared to be from an old coffin in a dirt pile in a cemetery behind the Pine Barren Baptist Church. The church is located on Pine Barren Church Road, between Highway 97 and Highway 4.
The dirt was reportedly piled in the edge of a cemetery after a monument company installed a two-person burial vault in the cemetery a few weeks ago. Officials believe the backhoe operator unintentionally dug into an old unmarked grave, removing the bones and skull with the backhoe bucket. The company and backhoe operator have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Pine Barren Baptist Church was formed in 1852, and officials believe the bones discovered Tuesday very well could have been buried over 100 years ago. The metal handles appeared to have been used on a wood coffin that had long since deteriorated.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the discovery. A crime scene unit worked into the evening to retrieve the bones and document the scene.
Pictured top and inset: The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the discovery of a skull and other apparent human bones Tuesday evening in the Pine Barren Baptist Church Cemetery in Davisville. Pictured below: A crime scene unit removed the bones for forensic testing. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
10 Responses to “Playing Kids Find Skull, Human Bones In Davisville”
My family is buried in this cemetary,could be my kin,would love to know who’s the deceased!! I’m also an active church member @ Pine Barren. WOW!!
REGARDING:
“Yeah this is the south.”
Yes, this is the south but having unmarked graves is not a “south” thing.
Most places throughout history did not have stone to mark graves and wood only lasts a short while.
Many died on journeys or were murdered and their bodies hidden through the centuries.
Many died after anyone who had ever cared for them had already died and nobody bothered to do more than bury them to avoid the health hazard, if that much.
Even the graves which were marked for a while, children or vandals decided to destroy or steal the markers.
The world is covered with unmarked graves.
David for truth
Yeah this is the south. There are numerous “unmarked” graves around the area, just ask any relative of yours who’s on up in their years.
Very interesting, as are all the comments about unmarked grave sites. With it being that old is there any possibility that it could be a plague gravesite? I always wonder about that when ever I hear about old graves being dug up.
There are three unmarked graves on Neal Road, at the top of Cottage Hill, back in the woods.
My grandfather said there are about 52 unmarked graves out there that he knows of.
Local law enforcement has access to ground penetrating radar. Maybe they could survey some of these old cemeteries as a training exercise sometime and re-mark some of the old burials. That might help prevent this sort of thing from happening.
There are quite a number of unmarked graves everywhere. Even in big cemeteries there are outlines of bricks or stones to mark a spot and no headstone. Many graves had wooden headstones telling who was buried and those disappear over time as did the casket in this case. Years ago many people were buried on family property and there were no concrete vaults back then. Seems this is a case as the story reported of an accidental unearthing of an old burial site. Rest in Peace.
Most of the older cemeteries around here have unmarked graves…many of which have long been forgotten. Wonder how many more unmarked graves are there?
The history of who this person was could prove interesting. Could be a a civil war vet. I hope they identify them.