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Shopper spots real human skull in thrift store’s Halloween section, Florida cops say

A skull found in a thrift store’s Halloween section turned out to be real, according to Florida officials.
A skull found in a thrift store’s Halloween section turned out to be real, according to Florida officials. Screen grab from Lee County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page.

Investigators responded to a Florida thrift store after a shopper spotted a human skull that looked way too authentic, officials say.

Deputies with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office headed to the store, in North Fort Myers, on Saturday, Nov. 4, the office said in a news release.

“The shopper, who happened to be an anthropologist, noticed the skull in the Halloween section and recognized it to be human,” the release said.

Investigators took possession of the disturbing decoration and soon determined the shopper’s instincts were most likely correct, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Based upon the observations of detectives on scene, the skull is believed to be that of a human,” the release said.

The store’s owner told investigators that the skull was in a storage unit purchased several years ago, the sheriff’s office said.

“This case is not suspicious in nature,” the release said, though it is being investigated further by the sheriff’s office, with assistance from the medical examiner’s office.

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This story was originally published November 5, 2023 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Shopper spots real human skull in thrift store’s Halloween section, Florida cops say."

MW
Mitchell Willetts
The State
Mitchell Willetts is a real-time news reporter covering the central U.S. for McClatchy. He is a University of Oklahoma graduate and outdoors enthusiast living in Texas.
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