PERRYSBURG, OH (Toledo News Now) - Perrysburg Police and Metroparks Police responded to Audubon Island in the Maumee River Wednesday morning, after a call about possible skeletal remains.
A fisherman contacted Toledo News Now after they said they made the discovery.
"I looked to my left as we were sitting there fishing, just jiggling like we always do, and I seen a bunch of bones and remains. I thought it was a deer carcass and it took me a minute to process what I had just saw," said Matthew Langlois, one of the fishermen who found the remains. "The bones and the remains were underneath the bank. The skull was partially crushed."
The remains consist of at least 10 bones and a possible crushed skull. The Lucas County Coroner's Office has confirmed they are human, and from a Native American burial ground.
Scott Carpenter, with the Metroparks, says this kind of finding is not uncommon along the island.
"We are aware of Indian burials on the island, so it's always our job to go and take pictures to send to the coroner's office," said Carpenter.
Metroparks officials say they will not disturb the remains; they plan to let them take their natural course.
All of this has Langlois a bit shaken up.
"We've been fishing down here for 25 years. Never in a million years thought I'd come across remains of a human," said one fisherman. "I'm just taking it all in. It's kind of an experience, really. I would really like to know who it is."
A necklace and metal bowl were found by the body and will be sent to the Ohio Historical Society.
