ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. — A routine afternoon of play near a quiet creek in Homeland Park turned into a nightmare for a group of children — and triggered one of the most disturbing discoveries in recent Anderson County history.

On Sunday, March 29, a young boy was walking along the creek that borders Lawrence Road when he spotted something unusual half-buried in the dirt and vegetation. He picked it up and carried it straight to his mother: a human skull.

Shocked and alarmed, the mother immediately contacted the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. A spokesperson for the department later confirmed the details in a statement to PEOPLE magazine: “While the caller’s son was walking around a creek surrounding Lawrence Road, he came across a skull and brought it directly to his mother.”

What began as a single horrifying find quickly escalated. Investigators descended on the scene and, after hours of painstaking work, recovered between 45 and 50 additional bones scattered across the same wooded, creek-side area. The remains were described by officials as “pretty weathered,” indicating they had been exposed to the elements for a significant period.

A local coroner who examined the skull on site confirmed it was definitively human. In an interview with Fox Carolina, the coroner offered a preliminary estimate of the remains’ age: “I want to say that these remains are probably 10-plus years because of the roots that were around the bones and things like that. But that’s still a guess.” The presence of roots growing through and around the bones suggests the remains had been undisturbed in the soil for at least a decade, possibly longer.

Remarkably, the skull itself showed no obvious signs of trauma or injury. However, authorities have not ruled out foul play. “We are in the early stages of the investigation,” the sheriff’s office told PEOPLE. Officers remained on scene for several hours, carefully documenting and collecting every piece of evidence to ensure nothing was overlooked.

The discovery has sent ripples of unease through the tight-knit Homeland Park community. Residents who once viewed the creek and surrounding woods as a safe, natural playground for children are now grappling with the realization that human remains — possibly those of a long-missing person — had been lying just steps away from where kids regularly played.

Forensic teams are now working to determine the identity of the deceased, the cause and manner of death, and how the remains ended up in this secluded spot. DNA testing, dental records, and advanced anthropological analysis will be critical in the coming weeks. Until those results are in, the case remains open and active.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office has appealed to anyone with information about missing persons in the area over the past 10–15 years to come forward. Even the smallest detail, they emphasize, could help bring closure to a family that has waited years for answers.

As the investigation continues, one thing is already clear: what started as a child’s innocent discovery has uncovered a far darker and more complex story — one that officials say could take months to fully unravel.