The human remains recovered in a marshy area just outside of LaGuardia Airport are still a mystery.
Maintenance crews clearing foliage just beyond the airport fence spotted the partial human skeleton lying at the shoreline along the Rikers Island Channel section of Flushing Bay around 6:20 p.m. on Monday, August 20.
Al Della Fave, a spokesperson for the Port Authority, said the workers quickly removed the remains from the bank to avoid the rising tide while awaiting the arrival of the medical examiner. Had it not been for the low tide, said Della Fave, workers would not have found the bones.
Della Fave said maintenance crews frequently clear beyond the airport border, pruning weeds and grass that may obscure the sightline in an area called the exclusionary zone that belongs to LaGuardia Airport.
At the scene, police expanded the perimeter and searched for additional evidence. According to Della Fave, detectives are now investigating open and missing-person cases.
“The initial thought is they may have washed up from the bay and got hung up on the shoreline,” said Della Fave.
A spokesperson from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) confirmed that the remains are human, but they could not identify the gender of the skeleton.
