Human Remains... ?

 Not long after we moved to our property, we decided to take a walk... get to know the land we own. We walked through the tall grass; we walked through the woods down to the small creek we have. I was taking pictures and just taking in all the beautiful sights we have. We were also taking notes of the countless things we would have to do, the machines we would need to do it, and the costs needed to do the things. 

However, we came across a deer antler, that had obviously come from a young deer. I picked it up and we decided to keep it. As we don't have any experience hunting and don't plan to start this season, I knew we wouldn't have any sort of antlers hanging on the RV walls any time soon. As we walked a little further, my son found a bone and picked it up and ran towards me with it. "Mom, I found a bone!" he yelled. Now, I watch enough crime shows to know that we live in the country, away from everything and my first thought was that we had bought some kind of serial killer's dumping ground. We brought the antler and the bone inside and I put the bone in a Ziploc bag. (For evidence, of course) Then we went back out looking. 

I turned into one of those female crime shows CSI's. I was out there, moving branches, moving leaves that had fallen. I was determined there were more bones. And low and behold, I found another. This one was curved slightly but looked to be the same age and was in close proximity to the other bone that had been found. At this point, my mind was racing with possibilities. What if we found a skeleton? Would I be in trouble for moving these bones? I couldn't just leave it. I wasn't sure if I could remember this spot the next day and I didn't have signal to call the police right away. 

Before I go any further with this story, I need you to understand that I'm from the city and if I found bones on my property, I would have police cars, CSI, detectives, the whole calvary out there in minutes. I'm not used to country life. 

So, after finding that bone, I looked a little while longer then made my way out of the tree line, where I found yet another bone, this one looking more like a flat bone, something like a piece of a skeleton. At this point, I was almost completely convinced that it was human. I came inside, laid the bones out on the table and started googling, human bones versus animal bones. The search took me almost an hour because it was animated pictures and not what I was looking for but when I finally found actual bones, the human bones on google looked more like what I had on my table then the animal bones did. I was convinced. Our land was full of human remains and we were being watched by the souls of their bodies and I was in full breakdown mode. What was supposed to be our perfect land, was now something from a horror movie. I put all the bones in a bag, that I had named "Jane", and I started googling missing persons from around here. 

Because I never do anything halfway. Not only was I going to find the rest of this woman's body, but I was determined to find out who she was. (And yes, I'm perfectly aware I could have given the bones to police, and they could have found out, but I had just moved here and clearly, I needed something to keep my mind occupied and having just moved here, I didn't want to go to the police without concrete evidence of Jane's body being on my property)

I sent the pictures to a couple of friends, one who has a friend in the medical field. That friend said the bones definitely looked human and at that time, I decided Jane needed justice, so that night, I decided, even without the rest of Jane's body, and no other missing person's located, I would go to the police. 

We dropped the kids off at school and went straight to the police station, Jane in hand. First, we went to the actual police station. The lady at the desk was sitting there sweetly, and I explain my situation. 

"Hi. We just moved here and were walking the property and I found bones and I think they could be human, and I just need to talk to someone. Or something. I don't know. I'm from the city, so I don't know how this works." I'll never forget her face. She smiled and asked where we lived. I explained where we lived, because at the time, we didn't have an actual address yet. She said, "Oh. That's a county thing. You'll have to go to the sheriff's office. Do you know where that is? They'll handle that. I'm so sorry though," she said. We did know where it was, and we headed straight there. I decided in the car to try and explain it more calmly. 

When we got to the sheriff's office, we walked in and the lady at the desk was just as sweet. "Can I help you?" she said. 

"Yes. We just moved here. I'm originally from the city and we were walking the property, and we found deer antlers and then my son found a bone and he brought it to me, and then we found two more bones and they might be human, and I just don't know. Can someone look at them or how does that work? I'm sorry I moved them. I wasn't sure what to do," I said. She kind of laughed and then told me she'd have to see if they had a deputy in to come out to the property to see them. That's when I laughed and said, "Oh no need. She's in my purse." 

So, she leans over, and I hold my purse up, like a child, as if to say... See! I brought it with me! She tells me to hang out and she will get someone. We stand in the lobby, and I ask myself over and over why I overshare like I do. But I can't help it. It's like something about talking to people, causes my mouth to word vomit and I have no off switch. That's something I plan on working on. A few, embarrassing minutes later, a deputy walks out, putting gloves on. 

"Whatcha got?" he asks. And I pull Jane out and explain it all over again, apologizing for moving the bones and that I know I wasn't supposed to move them, but they were pretty far in the woods where I don't have signal and wanted to make sure someone saw them, in case they were human, I wanted to make sure the family got justice. 

Just for the record, I was trying to do the right thing, but I sounded insane. 

He takes one, looks at it, then says, "Ma'am, this right here is an animal bone. You can tell because a human bone, the end would be bigger. Y'all really are city folk. You're gonna see a lot of bones 'round here. It's the country. Now, if you come across a hole with a lot of bones, you call. Or if you find a human skeleton, you call. But these, you go on home and give these to your dog." He handed me back Jane. I said thank you, as composed as I could, and we left. 

So, in case you're wondering, I did not give Jane to my dog. I will probably never go back to report anything again. And he was right, I am definitely city folk, but I'm learning. There are things in the country that are just different. I keep Jane in a drawer, almost as a reminder of that day, because it made me remember who I was. It may be animal bones, but I truly believed it was a person, and I was determined to find them, so even though I was wrong in my assumptions, I was determined to do what I felt was right. And instead, it makes a funny, just moved to the country story. 

So, if you're thinking of moving to the country and you're from the city, let me give you a piece of advice. There are bones on the property. Unless you find a human skeleton, don't worry about it. The people who are from the country, can spot a city person, a mile away. But that's okay because they are usually really nice about it. One more thing, the bugs out here, are unlike any bugs I've ever seen. The size of hummingbirds, so be prepared. They will literally set my ring camera off all night. But it beats sirens, crime, and neighbors any day!