LOCAL NEWS

Hunters find human skull in Salt Lake backcountry

Oct 23, 2024, 7:35 PM | Updated: 7:42 pm

A portion of human skull found in the backcountry of Salt Lake County Oct. 15 by a group of elk hun...

A portion of human skull found in the backcountry of Salt Lake County Oct. 15 by a group of elk hunters. (Creighton Baird)

(Creighton Baird)

SALT LAKE CITY — Less than a week after a skull was found near Brigham City, hunters near Salt Lake City say they found what police believe to be pieces of a human skull.

Creighton Baird was hunting elk Oct. 15, when he came across a strange object. “I picked it up not knowing what it was at first,” but figured out pretty quickly it was the top of a human skull.

“It’s often hunters who stumble across human remains in the backcountry,” he said.

Baird marked the location and called the Salt Lake County sheriff, who investigated the next day. Chris Bronson, a spokesperson for the county sheriff’s office, confirmed that someone called dispatch, and police later flew a chopper out to investigate near what they would only specify as an area around Black Mountain.

The object was confirmed to be a human skull in two parts, according to Bronson. The sheriff’s office called for a team of cadaver dogs to help search the area, but none were available, so deputies did a grid search, not finding any other human remains.

The recovered skull is with the medical examiner’s office and will be logged into evidence.

A portion of human skull found in the backcountry of Salt Lake County Oct. 15 by a group of elk hunters. (Creighton Baird)

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Hunters find human skull in Salt Lake backcountry