Human skulls among Goodwill donations in Bellevue

SEATTLE – Three human skulls turned up last month among the donations to a Goodwill store in Bellevue.

Employees at the store found the skulls in a donation bin. Two were placed in boxes and one was wrapped in a striped scarf. Once workers realized the skulls were human, they reported the find to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Two of the skulls were the type used for medical or educational purposes, and both were from adults, said Kathy Taylor, a forensic anthropologist with the Medical Examiner’s Office. They had been bleached, and the parts wired together.

The third skull is more than 100 years old and came from a Native American child younger than 10 years old, according to Taylor.

“The bone is very old, very dark and very fragile,” Taylor said. “There were also cultural indications that matched Native American practices.”

State law dictates that the Native American skull be returned to its tribe of origin, but more information is needed to identify the correct tribe.

The Medical Examiner’s Office is seeking help from the public to track down the person who donated the skulls to Goodwill so the person can provide details, without penalty, about the Native American skull.

Taylor said she hopes this case will remind the public that if human remains are discovered, people should call the Medical Examiner’s Office, whether they find them in a public place or inherit them from a relative.