HARROGATE, Tenn. (AP) - Police are investigating after two ginseng hunters found a human skull near Cumberland Gap National Park on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line.
Claiborne County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Capt. David Honeycutt told WBIR-TV that search crews were out Thursday and would return to the area on Friday to search for more remains.
The ginseng hunters, Marcus Cowan and Charles Sikes of Sevierville, told media that they found the skull Wednesday night near the Fern Lake shoreline after getting lost in the woods.
“My nephew here, he happened to see something white sticking up a distance away and we walked to it and it was somebody’s human remains,” Sikes said.
The National Park Service is helping officials in Kentucky and Tennessee as the search for more remains.
Honeycutt told WVLT-TV that the skull was sent to the University of Tennessee to determine the identity of the person, but it could take several weeks to get results.
“There are some missing people from this region, and hopefully it will be one of those we can bring closure to some family,” Honeycutt said.
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