Bone found in Southport under investigation

SOUTHPORT, NC (WWAY)– An unusual discovery in Southport is catching the attention of a lot of people including Southport Police.   

Barbara Parker posted in a local community Facebook page that her 11-year-old nephew, Dustin Dotson, found a bone along the waterfront in Southport.   

“When we got there, I didn’t think anything was going to happen, you know? Might catch a fish or two and nothing really surprising would happen,” Dotson said.

She says her nephew brought it home thinking it belonged to an animal, but after sharing photos with others, some people suggested the bone could be human.  

Parker then turned the bone over to Southport Police, who say they’re taking the appropriate next steps to find out more about the discovery. 

“Right now we are in the early stages of trying to confirm if it is or isn’t a human bone, so there’s processes we have to take to do that which include notifying the Medical Examiner’s Office, and reaching out to some folks with NC State Crime Lab to kind of look at it and determine what next steps should look like,” said Todd Corning, Southport Police Chief. 

Coring says this is the fourth time bones have been turned into the department. One of those times the bones were declared as human. He says the determination process takes anywhere from six to eight weeks. 

We’ll hear more from Parker tonight at 11.