LIBERTY COUNTY — After a Liberty County family found a human skull in their front yard, law enforcement began a search through the marshland around the home, looking for answers.
The Liberty County Sheriff's Office organized a search for more skeletal remains after a homeowner on County Road 325 in north Liberty County found the skull. The homeowner thought the family's pet dog brought the skull into their yard from the surrounding woods, Liberty County Sheriff's office lead investigator Travis Pierce said in a statement.
The search was delayed until Monday morning, the sheriff's office said, due to heavy rain and severe weather this past weekend.
Texas EquuSearch and the Liberty County Sheriff's Office's mounted posse were called out to search the woods around the home. But most of the woods surrounding the house was water-filled marsh land and mud, making walking difficult for the searchers, police said.
No additional remains were found, although investigators continued to search throughout the day.
Investigator Pierce said in a statement the skull is very weathered and seems to have been exposed to the elements for several years. Since the teeth and lower jawbone were not attached, investigators are not speculating about the sex, identity or age of the person or the circumstances which may have lead to the death.
"Due to the obvious weathered condition of the skull, it is not possible to determine, at this early stage of the investigation, if the remains were washed up from a shallow grave or [if] the individual was at some point on top of the ground," Liberty County Capt. Ken DeFoor said in a news release.
"With the animal and wildlife activity in the thick woods, it is even possible the remains may have been carried from some other distant location onto County Road 325 by animals or by floodwaters that have hit the area over the past several years," DeFoor said.
Investigator Pierce said the remains will be examined and the investigation will continue to try to identify the person. However, the sheriff's office is not speculating on the identity so they won't encourage false hope for families with missing loved ones.