Human Remains Uncovered Near Native American Burial Ground in Florida After Hurricane Nicole
The remains of at least six people have been discovered on a Florida beach after Hurricane Nicole made landfall.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office said the human remains were found on Hutchinson Island's Chastain Beach on Thursday after the storm, which is currently a tropical depression, slammed into the state's eastern coast, according to ABC affiliate WPBF.
The bones are believed to belong to members of the Seminole Tribe, the outlet reported.
MSCO Chief Deputy John Budensiek said a total of six skulls and several smaller bones were located by beachgoers, according to NBC News.
Budensiek said the medical examiner's office believes the bones "are in excess of 200 years of age," the outlet reported.
"We do believe based on other findings over the years along that area that it's likely to be an old Indian burial site," he continued. "When we are dealing with remains like this, we try to preserve history. We are not exploring and digging any further into the area where the remains were found. We only recovered what's been exposed by the water."
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A Native American burial ground is indeed located near where the human remains were discovered on Thursday, according to CBS affiliate WPEC.
However, representatives of the Seminole Tribe are upset that their ancestors' resting place has been disturbed, and want them to be able to rest in peace, according to the outlet.
"Think of your own families or anyone's families," said Juan Cancel, assistant director of the tribal historic preservation office for the Seminole Tribe of Florida. "We want anyone from our past that has passed on treated with the same level of respect as anyone else."
Budensiek said the MSCO "are working as if it's a crime scene out of an abundance of caution," WBPF reported.
The MSCO has opened an investigation into the discovery.
This is not the first time human remains have been found near this area. Human remains were also found after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Dorian in 2019, according to WPBF and NBC News.
Nicole, which made landfall as a rare November hurricane, has since been downgraded to a tropical depression, with maximum sustained winds of just 30 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. At least five people have died.
