Authorities say a family found a skull and jawbone near a trail at DeForest Park, and investigators are now trying to identify the dead person.
LONG BEACH, CA — A family taking part in an Easter egg hunt at DeForest Park on Sunday found what authorities later confirmed was a human skull near a walking trail, sending police and county medical examiner investigators to the scene and turning a holiday outing into a death investigation.
The discovery matters because it moved quickly from a disturbing neighborhood report to an official unidentified-death case. Long Beach police and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner confirmed that recovered remains included a skeletonized skull and mandible, but by Tuesday they had not publicly identified the person, explained how the bones got there or said how long they had been at the park. The unanswered questions have left nearby residents shaken and investigators focused on forensic testing.
Police said officers were called to the area around 5 p.m. Sunday after a report of possible human remains near the 5900 block of De Forest Avenue, the stretch of Long Beach where DeForest Park and Wetlands sits near the Los Angeles River and the 710 Freeway. Families had been using the park for Easter activities, and one family came across the remains while children were hunting for eggs. Video from local television stations showed bright plastic eggs still scattered on the dirt path not far from a white evidence tent. The first public accounts described a possible skull partly exposed in the ground. By Monday, officials had confirmed the remains were human. Long Beach police said the county medical examiner was called in because of the circumstances. Investigators returned the next morning for recovery work, carefully clearing soil from the area before removing the bones.
The county medical examiner said its Special Operations Response Team recovered a skeletonized human skull and a mandible, then took the remains to the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center in Los Angeles for further examination. The case was entered as Unidentified Doe No. 196, with case number 2026-05656. Authorities have been cautious about nearly every other detail. Early witness speculation and some local reports suggested the bones might belong to a child because of their size, but officials have not confirmed an age or gender. Police also said no other remains were immediately reported at the scene. That leaves several central questions unresolved: whether the skull and jawbone had been buried there for a long time, whether they were moved from somewhere else, whether environmental changes exposed them recently and whether the case points to an old death, a missing-person mystery or some other explanation. By Tuesday, investigators had released no cause or manner of death and no estimate for how long the remains had been in the area.
The setting has added to the shock. DeForest Park and its wetlands area is used by walkers, runners and families, and neighbors told local stations it is common to see children in the area on weekends and holidays. The park lies close to industrial corridors, the river channel and freeway traffic, but it also serves as a familiar green space for nearby residents. That ordinary backdrop made the discovery stand out even more. In aerial footage, investigators worked just off a public path while holiday eggs remained visible on the ground. The scene recalled other Southern California cases in which skeletal remains were found long after a death, forcing investigators to rely on forensic anthropology, dental review and comparisons with missing-person records rather than eyewitness accounts or fresh evidence. Officials have not tied this case to any known missing person, and they have not said whether earlier searches, construction, erosion or heavy foot traffic in the area may have affected the site before the discovery.
The next steps are procedural and likely slow. Forensic specialists are expected to examine the skull and jawbone for biological profile details such as approximate age, sex, ancestry indicators and possible signs of trauma. Investigators can also compare dental features, DNA and any unique skeletal markers against missing-person databases. Long Beach police have said the investigation is ongoing, and the medical examiner said updates will be posted when more information becomes available. No arrests have been announced, no suspect has been identified and no criminal charges have been filed. It also remains unclear whether the case will ultimately be handled as a homicide investigation, an unexplained death or a historical identification effort. The medical examiner’s office began its documented response on April 5 with a scene assessment, then carried out recovery work on April 6. Any public update is likely to depend on lab findings, identification progress or a decision by investigators that the death involved a crime.
Neighbors and park users have described a mix of grief, disbelief and worry for the children who were there when the remains were found. Marc Zaldana, who told CBS Los Angeles he was walking near the trail when the family reacted, said the group appeared to be “freaking out a little bit” in the moments after the discovery. Another resident, Jessica Flores, told NBC4 the case felt especially painful because families visit the area often and children regularly play there. Others who spoke to local outlets said they were struck by the contrast between a holiday gathering and a forensic recovery scene. The emotional weight of the case has centered not only on the unknown identity of the dead person but also on the family whose outing ended with police tape, investigators and a white tent. For now, that combination of ordinary park life and unanswered questions has left the neighborhood waiting for lab results and a name.
As of Tuesday, authorities had confirmed only that the remains were a human skull and mandible recovered from DeForest Park. The next milestone is the forensic examination at the county’s science center, where investigators will try to identify the person and determine whether the death points to a crime.
Author note: Last updated April 7, 2026.