Crazy off topic but I have to share this!

[hurley1980]

So my Monday has been quite exciting! 

I have been renovating my detached garage to turn it into a studio apartment for my elderly mother.  Today I had plumbers out digging behind the garage to tap into the sewer line.  About 2 hours in, while in a work meeting, my phone starts blowing up with calls from various people on the job.  When I was done, I went out to see what was going on, and I was told that random bones wrapped in an old rug had been found during the dig.  You may be able to see where this is going....

It wasn't a full skeleton, just some bits and pieces, and no skull.  Some of them looked human.  So out comes the sheriffs department to take pictures, samples in evidence bags, etc. The coroner finally determined that they were NOT human (thank god, I might have had to burn the housed down and move), but she didn't know what they were, so the sheriff collected all of them and took them away. 

My friends and I have been trying to come up with scenarios of how these bones ended up there for most of the afternoon.  

Most logical....it was a deer or something.  The head was mounted, the meat was eaten, and the remains were buried.  But why the rug?

Wildest explanation.....cult animal sacrifice, bigfoot, maybe aliens!  Who knows.

Any thoughts? Found about 2 feet down.  Most likely not a dog or cat. The one bone I did see looked like a small femur.  I am extremely relieved, and also stumped as to what the heck this creature was, and why it ended up back there.

Also Happy Halloween!  

[Artemis Windsong]

Will the sheriff let you know when they make a determination of the remains?

How far away from the garage/house were these bones?

Is this a city or country home?

[Deleted]

Oct 11, 2021 18:45:00 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

So my Monday has been quite exciting! 

I have been renovating my detached garage to turn it into a studio apartment for my elderly mother.  Today I had plumbers out digging behind the garage to tap into the sewer line.  About 2 hours in, while in a work meeting, my phone starts blowing up with calls from various people on the job.  When I was done, I went out to see what was going on, and I was told that random bones wrapped in an old rug had been found during the dig.  You may be able to see where this is going....

It wasn't a full skeleton, just some bits and pieces, and no skull.  Some of them looked human.  So out comes the sheriffs department to take pictures, samples in evidence bags, etc. The coroner finally determined that they were NOT human (thank god, I might have had to burn the housed down and move), but she didn't know what they were, so the sheriff collected all of them and took them away. 

My friends and I have been trying to come up with scenarios of how these bones ended up there for most of the afternoon.  

Most logical....it was a deer or something.  The head was mounted, the meat was eaten, and the remains were buried.  But why the rug?

Wildest explanation.....cult animal sacrifice, bigfoot, maybe aliens!  Who knows.

Any thoughts? Found about 2 feet down.  Most likely not a dog or cat. The one bone I did see looked like a small femur.  I am extremely relieved, and also stumped as to what the heck this creature was, and why it ended up back there.

Also Happy Halloween!  

Oh boy! That would probably creep me out, but I’m scary like that.

If something like that happened at my other house, I’d be ready to throw the whole house away, because DD use to say a little boy lived in her closet. She always described him and his clothes the exact same way. She didn’t seem to be afraid of him, so I didn’t really worry about it. 

She’s good and grown now, and still says it was true.

Then when she moved back in and had DGS, a lot of strange things started happening in my house. I literally watched a bedroom door close as I was walking down the hallway, and nobody was in that room. DD and DGS were the only other people in the house, and they were at the other end of the house, in the den. And that’s not the only creepy thing that happened during that time.

If any kind of bones were unearthed in my yard, that would have been the confirmation that I needed to bail.

[hurley1980]

I love creepy stuff, and I'm a huge horror/sci fi nerd.  I really wouldn't mind if my house was haunted as long as I wasn't in danger, but my house is sooooo not haunted, as far as i know.  But maybe I don't have the 6th sense. My coworkers were asking me tons of questions about hauntings while we were waiting for results, cause if it had been human bones, how could this place NOT be haunted.  I don't think animals haunt, so I think I'm good. 

Also, my late cat is buried in the garden on the other side of the backyard.  When the contractors first mentioned bones, I thought they had found her, but they were digging in a totally different spot. And that started the whole series of events. 

I'm hoping they deputy will let me know what the bones are, but since there's no crime, i probably won't hear the outcome. 

[dannylion]

It is possible that the local wildlife have adapted to human encroachment and are now incorporating human artifacts (the rug) in their funeral practices.  

[hurley1980]

Oct 11, 2021 18:53:05 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

Will the sheriff let you know when they make a determination of the remains?

How far away from the garage/house were these bones?

Is this a city or country home?

I doubt the sheriff will let me know. I mean, I really hope they do, but I live in Sacramento county, and they have much bigger things to deal with. 

My garage sits to the back left of my house (looking from the road). There's about 5 feet between the back wall and the fence.  The bones were found between the wall and the fence, towards the back corner. My property is pretty small, but standard for suburb lots, about 6000 sf.

I am in the suburbs, about 15 miles outside of downtown Sacramento.  So not city, but not country either.  

My coworkers are actually trying to find out what was in this area before the houses/suburb were built.  Its a slow day for us, so at least this whole situation gives us some excitement. lol

[Tennesseer]

My neighbor a couple of years ago was telling me about a home he once rented in the Los Angeles area.

He told me the police came to his home and told him there was probably a trap door in his basement which led to an underground tunnel; an underground tunnel which led to another home two blocks away from his home.  Trap door was found in his basement.

Police believed the tunnel was for running drugs and/or an escape route for criminals on the lam at least 45-50 years ago.

[hurley1980]

Oct 11, 2021 19:30:23 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Since I do the wrap in a blanket thing, I'm guessing someone's pet.

This was my most logical thought too, but why wouldn't it be a full skeleton?  Unless something tragic happened, and this is all they had to bury. The no skull thing is really driving me wild. 

My friends, family and coworkers have all been discussing this all day, since we first discovered the bones.  Probably 99% that its a pet, but we are having fun creating crazy stories cause its Monday, we are bored, an its Halloween month!

[hurley1980]

Since I'm in Sacramento, and this woman is from here, and a notorious serial killer who buried bodies in her backyard, this is the first place my mind went. lol


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_Puente

[Tennesseer]

Oct 11, 2021 19:38:38 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

Since I'm in Sacramento, and this woman is from here, and a notorious serial killer who buried bodies in her backyard, this is the first place my mind went. lol


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_Puente

Busy lady.

[CCL]

Oct 11, 2021 19:35:26 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

My neighbor a couple of years ago was telling me about a home he once rented in the Los Angeles area.

He told me the police came to his home and told him there was probably a trap door in his basement which led to an underground tunnel; an underground tunnel which led to another home two blocks away from his home.  Trap door was found in his basement.

Police believed the tunnel was for running drugs and/or an escape route for criminals on the lam at least 45-50 years ago.

Eek!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Oct 11, 2021 19:37:22 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

Oct 11, 2021 19:30:23 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Since I do the wrap in a blanket thing, I'm guessing someone's pet.

This was my most logical thought too, but why wouldn't it be a full skeleton?  Unless something tragic happened, and this is all they had to bury. The no skull thing is really driving me wild. 

My friends, family and coworkers have all been discussing this all day, since we first discovered the bones.  Probably 99% that its a pet, but we are having fun creating crazy stories cause its Monday, we are bored, an its Halloween month!

If someone digs in our back yard, they are going to find the skeletons of 3 dogs and 2 cats, and these numbers likely to increase.   Why no skull is maybe a wild animal got into the animal as it was decomposing?  

[Artemis Windsong]

My take on this is it was a rabid animal. They remove the head and study the brain. I know of a 6 y.o. that was mentally harmed for life for telling the vet to check her dog for rabies then returned a headless dog in a trash bag.

Sorry for this being gruesome.

Our country property had multiple animals interred. It would have been better to have a designated place. When I was young, the pet cemetery was behind the garage.

[raeoflyte]

Oct 12, 2021 10:19:20 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

My take on this is it was a rabid animal. They remove the head and study the brain. I know of a 6 y.o. that was mentally harmed for life for telling the vet to check her dog for rabies then returned a headless dog in a trash bag.

Sorry for this being gruesome.

Our country property had multiple animals interred. It would have been better to have a designated place. When I was young, the pet cemetery was behind the garage.

I'd blame the parents on that one. Who hands the bag over to the 6 year old? But the vet should have warned them. But once you raise that it might be rabies they have to check, and that is the only way.

Rabies testing is the worst part of dh's job. Thankfully doesn't come up very often.

[hurley1980]

Yes, now that the whole thing is done and over, I'm sure it has to be some kind of wild animal or pet, and the bones were pretty old, so there's a logical explanation for it I'm sure.  

It was definitely a crazy day though.  This is the only house I've ever owned, and the first major construction I've done on it.  I was definitely not expecting it.  This house is almost 70 years old.  I'm sure there are other secrets within the land, but I don't really want to know. 

[hurley1980]

Oct 12, 2021 10:19:20 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

My take on this is it was a rabid animal. They remove the head and study the brain. I know of a 6 y.o. that was mentally harmed for life for telling the vet to check her dog for rabies then returned a headless dog in a trash bag.

Sorry for this being gruesome.

Our country property had multiple animals interred. It would have been better to have a designated place. When I was young, the pet cemetery was behind the garage.

That is horrible!

[Artemis Windsong]

Oct 12, 2021 10:45:18 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Oct 12, 2021 10:19:20 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

My take on this is it was a rabid animal. They remove the head and study the brain. I know of a 6 y.o. that was mentally harmed for life for telling the vet to check her dog for rabies then returned a headless dog in a trash bag.

Sorry for this being gruesome.

Our country property had multiple animals interred. It would have been better to have a designated place. When I was young, the pet cemetery was behind the garage.

I'd blame the parents on that one. Who hands the bag over to the 6 year old? But the vet should have warned them. But once you raise that it might be rabies they have to check, and that is the only way.

Rabies testing is the worst part of dh's job. Thankfully doesn't come up very often.

I don't think the parents had any idea of what could happen.  Until that happened, I would not have known.

[CCL]

Even if they weren't aware of the physical condition, who hands a dead pet over to little kid?

Hurley how's the studio apartment coming along?

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Oct 11, 2021 19:35:26 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

My neighbor a couple of years ago was telling me about a home he once rented in the Los Angeles area.

He told me the police came to his home and told him there was probably a trap door in his basement which led to an underground tunnel; an underground tunnel which led to another home two blocks away from his home.  Trap door was found in his basement.

Police believed the tunnel was for running drugs and/or an escape route for criminals on the lam at least 45-50 years ago.

how was this he never noticed??

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Oct 12, 2021 10:45:18 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Oct 12, 2021 10:19:20 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

My take on this is it was a rabid animal. They remove the head and study the brain. I know of a 6 y.o. that was mentally harmed for life for telling the vet to check her dog for rabies then returned a headless dog in a trash bag.

Sorry for this being gruesome.

Our country property had multiple animals interred. It would have been better to have a designated place. When I was young, the pet cemetery was behind the garage.

I'd blame the parents on that one. Who hands the bag over to the 6 year old? But the vet should have warned them. But once you raise that it might be rabies they have to check, and that is the only way.

Rabies testing is the worst part of dh's job. Thankfully doesn't come up very often.

wait - it isn't a blood test? Was the dog not dead before the rabies check?

[Tennesseer]

Oct 12, 2021 19:04:31 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Oct 11, 2021 19:35:26 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

My neighbor a couple of years ago was telling me about a home he once rented in the Los Angeles area.

He told me the police came to his home and told him there was probably a trap door in his basement which led to an underground tunnel; an underground tunnel which led to another home two blocks away from his home.  Trap door was found in his basement.

Police believed the tunnel was for running drugs and/or an escape route for criminals on the lam at least 45-50 years ago.

how was this he never noticed??

He was a renter with no need to store anything in the basement. He was single guy with not a lot of life's 'stuff'.

[Artemis Windsong]

Oct 12, 2021 19:07:00 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Oct 12, 2021 10:45:18 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

I'd blame the parents on that one. Who hands the bag over to the 6 year old? But the vet should have warned them. But once you raise that it might be rabies they have to check, and that is the only way.

Rabies testing is the worst part of dh's job. Thankfully doesn't come up very often.

wait - it isn't a blood test? Was the dog not dead before the rabies check?

The last question is a correct statement.

[raeoflyte]

Oct 12, 2021 19:07:00 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Oct 12, 2021 10:45:18 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

I'd blame the parents on that one. Who hands the bag over to the 6 year old? But the vet should have warned them. But once you raise that it might be rabies they have to check, and that is the only way.

Rabies testing is the worst part of dh's job. Thankfully doesn't come up very often.

wait - it isn't a blood test? Was the dog not dead before the rabies check?

If an animal is alive, they keep it quarantined to watch for symptoms. But if its died, the only way to test is brain tissue.

www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/rabies-facts-prevention-tips/

[happyhoix]

Well in my neck of the woods, since it isn’t a dog or cat, my guess would be someone had a special event and roasted a pig/goat/lamb. Then maybe decided it was easier to roll the remains in an old rig and bury it rather than chopping it into sections for the garbage.

Around here, BBQ is king.

[hurley1980]

Oct 12, 2021 18:33:55 GMT -5 CCL said:

Even if they weren't aware of the physical condition, who hands a dead pet over to little kid?

Hurley how's the studio apartment coming along?

It was off to a slow start, delay on wood framing materials, contractors with busy schedules, etc.  But its moving along nicely now.  I am hoping mom will be in by Thanksgiving, but if its not until December, that is fine too.  Contractors around here are insanely busy, so we were lucky to even find one to take on the job.  All the guys on the team are doing a great job! 

Mom is slowly going through her apartment and getting rid of stuff.  Its been a struggle, she's not a hoarder but she can't understand why no one wants to buy her "nice" things....like her Noritaki (sp?) china, or her San Francisco music box collection.  Lol those things were loved by the boomers, but no one wants them now.  Reminds me of beany babies. 

[happyhoix]

Oct 13, 2021 11:04:29 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

Oct 12, 2021 18:33:55 GMT -5 CCL said:

Even if they weren't aware of the physical condition, who hands a dead pet over to little kid?

Hurley how's the studio apartment coming along?

It was off to a slow start, delay on wood framing materials, contractors with busy schedules, etc.  But its moving along nicely now.  I am hoping mom will be in by Thanksgiving, but if its not until December, that is fine too.  Contractors around here are insanely busy, so we were lucky to even find one to take on the job.  All the guys on the team are doing a great job! 

Mom is slowly going through her apartment and getting rid of stuff.  Its been a struggle, she's not a hoarder but she can't understand why no one wants to buy her "nice" things....like her Noritaki (sp?) china, or her San Francisco music box collection.  Lol those things were loved by the boomers, but no one wants them now.  Reminds me of beany babies. 

This reminds me of my mom when she was downsizing to move into a townhome. She was only willing to part with something if her kids would take it - everything was too valuable (even her cool whip containers she used for storing leftovers.) She obsessed over the 1960 encyclopedia set and the 1950s A line grey wool skirt that none of us wanted - she kept asking us over and over who would take them. She finally offered the encyclopedias to her library and was furious when they didn’t want them either. It was such a painful process, and she ended up cramming her townhouse with boxes of stuff she couldn’t bear to donate or throw out. One positive outcome is it’s made it much easier for me to donate and toss stuff I don’t use anymore. I don’t want my stuff to own me.

[andi9899]

Oct 13, 2021 11:04:29 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

Oct 12, 2021 18:33:55 GMT -5 CCL said:

Even if they weren't aware of the physical condition, who hands a dead pet over to little kid?

Hurley how's the studio apartment coming along?

It was off to a slow start, delay on wood framing materials, contractors with busy schedules, etc.  But its moving along nicely now.  I am hoping mom will be in by Thanksgiving, but if its not until December, that is fine too.  Contractors around here are insanely busy, so we were lucky to even find one to take on the job.  All the guys on the team are doing a great job! 

Mom is slowly going through her apartment and getting rid of stuff.  Its been a struggle, she's not a hoarder but she can't understand why no one wants to buy her "nice" things....like her Noritaki (sp?) china, or her San Francisco music box collection.  Lol those things were loved by the boomers, but no one wants them now.  Reminds me of beany babies. 

T1 has a beany baby she was given as an infant. It's still looking pretty good 23 years later.

[seriousthistime]

Oct 13, 2021 11:04:29 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

Oct 12, 2021 18:33:55 GMT -5 CCL said:

Even if they weren't aware of the physical condition, who hands a dead pet over to little kid?

Hurley how's the studio apartment coming along?

It was off to a slow start, delay on wood framing materials, contractors with busy schedules, etc.  But its moving along nicely now.  I am hoping mom will be in by Thanksgiving, but if its not until December, that is fine too.  Contractors around here are insanely busy, so we were lucky to even find one to take on the job.  All the guys on the team are doing a great job! 

Mom is slowly going through her apartment and getting rid of stuff.  Its been a struggle, she's not a hoarder but she can't understand why no one wants to buy her "nice" things....like her Noritaki (sp?) china, or her San Francisco music box collection.  Lol those things were loved by the boomers, but no one wants them now.  Reminds me of beany babies. 

Hey.  Now you're getting personal. 

[teen persuasion]

Oct 14, 2021 8:39:45 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Oct 13, 2021 11:04:29 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

It was off to a slow start, delay on wood framing materials, contractors with busy schedules, etc.  But its moving along nicely now.  I am hoping mom will be in by Thanksgiving, but if its not until December, that is fine too.  Contractors around here are insanely busy, so we were lucky to even find one to take on the job.  All the guys on the team are doing a great job! 

Mom is slowly going through her apartment and getting rid of stuff.  Its been a struggle, she's not a hoarder but she can't understand why no one wants to buy her "nice" things....like her Noritaki (sp?) china, or her San Francisco music box collection.  Lol those things were loved by the boomers, but no one wants them now.  Reminds me of beany babies. 

This reminds me of my mom when she was downsizing to move into a townhome. She was only willing to part with something if her kids would take it - everything was too valuable (even her cool whip containers she used for storing leftovers.) She obsessed over the 1960 encyclopedia set and the 1950s A line grey wool skirt that none of us wanted - she kept asking us over and over who would take them. She finally offered the encyclopedias to her library and was furious when they didn’t want them either. It was such a painful process, and she ended up cramming her townhouse with boxes of stuff she couldn’t bear to donate or throw out. One positive outcome is it’s made it much easier for me to donate and toss stuff I don’t use anymore. I don’t want my stuff to own me.

  yeah, libraries don't want umpteen sets of outdated encyclopedias, no matter how well preserved they look.  "And no, I don't know who else might be interested in curating accepting your old books, sorry."  <-- end of every phone call asking if the  library will accept donations of books, because they are cleaning out Grandma's house.

[Tiny]

I doubt anyone handed the bag to the 6yo.    I'm guessing when the parent(s) went to get the dog back from the vet - they took their child along.   They get to the Vet and request their pet - and someone brought out the remains in a bag.   And there's a 6yo standing there expecting to see the dog happily wagging it's tail.   

The biggest question is did the parents know how this was going to play out -  and then if they just miscommunicated what was happening to the 6yo.   

(I have a friend who needed to have a minor non-life threatening operation as a child - and the way she understood what was going to happen - was NOT what actually happened.  She didn't "understand" the explanation of going to sleep and then everything would be fine (it was the early 70's).   She thought she'd spend the day playing at the hospital and then eat dinner - go to sleep and wake up the next morning - having the medical problem magically fixed.   No one said anything about mom and dad leaving, the people with covered faces, the lights, the machines and whole operating room and then finally getting the  anesthesia  and "going to sleep"....    OK, she's weird and even as an adult - sometimes "understands" things weirdly... she thought she was going to have a tooth removed without any pain killers.... I think she was envisioning The Three Stooges - the dentist would have a big pair of pliers and pull her tooth out while someone held her down....      


ADDED:   My house came with nicely maintained flower beds  - one of the flower beds has a large -ish rock in a prominent spot.   I'm assuming there is a pet or two under it from the previous house owner.   I left the rock and think kindly on what it might mark.    The ashes of 3  of my cats are under another large rock (that a sibling brought from their lake house  for me)  in a different flower bed.