RUSSELLVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Authorities say a skull found atop a ledge in northwest Alabama likely belonged to a man who had been dead for years.
Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver says the skull discovered last month by hikers was likely that of a male between the ages of 18 and 49. He says the person had been dead between two and seven years.
Officials haven’t determined the identity of the dead person, nor do they know how the skull came to rest atop a rock ledge near Bear Creek.
The sheriff told a news conference Tuesday the bone could have been deposited atop the ledge by high water.
Hikers found the skull on June 9. Oliver says investigators don’t know whether the person died of some sort of trauma.