Family mystified by discovery of human bone under house

The family who live in a Hamilton house where a mysterious bone was dug up earlier this week say they were surprised to find out it was human.

The bone was recovered from a dirt bank under a house in Beerescourt by two residents on Monday, Detective Senior Sergeant Karl Thornton said.

A pathologist identified it as a human thigh bone, between 20 and 100 years old.

Police forensic teams and historic and iwi experts had been called in to further analyse the bone, Mr Thornton said.

Sarah Nathan, who lives at the house where the bone was found, said she was just as surprised as anyone to find out the bone was not an animal bone, but a human thigh bone.

She was interested to find out the history of the bone.

"It's certainly an extraordinary thing that has happened and we will be as interested as anyone else out there to learn the origins of the bone and if there are any more remains to be uncovered.''

A Maori blessing was carried out at the property this morning ahead of a Hamilton City Council inspection to ensure it was safe to be excavated.

Mr Thornton said one of the key challenges facing the investigation was the limited information an analysis on the bone had revealed.

"Coupled with that we are not aware of any burial sites or missing persons that could be directly linked to this discovery,'' he said.

 

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