Alligator Online

The skull and bones of a local man that were first found by a dog were identified Thursday.

Investigators discovered the bones and clothes of 50-year-old Kevin Smetzer in a heavily wooded area near 5007 SW 46th St. after a Gainesville resident found a skull in his yard Wednesday morning, said Sgt. Keith Faulk, spokesman for the Alachua County Sheriff's Office.

"Detectives feel confident based on interviews with neighbors, canvassing that they did and along with identification found, that the remains are his," Faulk said.

Faulk said there were no indications of foul play or criminal activity.

James Hansen discovered the skull when he went outside to feed his mixed Labrador, Cujo.

Hansen said Cujo also dug up another bone he thought was a cow leg four days prior to finding the skull.

Detectives later were able to determine that the other bone was a human leg bone.

"It scared the daylights out of me," Hansen said. "When I called 911, the operator said, 'What's your emergency?' and I said, 'I've got a human skull in my front yard.' I didn't think she believed me."

Hansen said the police officer who arrived at his house near Interstate 75 thought it was a prank call.

"[The officer] said, 'Now we know you're not crazy' when he saw the eye sockets and teeth," Hansen said.

Faulk said the bones were found above ground. He said investigators are not sure how long the bones had been in the woods but are sure it has been more than four months.

Hansen said Smetzer was a soft-spoken man who lived in the area about eight years ago.

Throughout the years, Smetzer would visit his former landlord, with whom he remained close friends.

Hansen said Smetzer's landlord found a suicide note last June on his door but did not think much of it because Smetzer had shown suicidal tendencies for years.

"He seemed to be an extremely intelligent man that kept to himself," said Hansen's daughter Myranda Legler.

Legler said Smetzer was an odd man and neighborhood kids would antagonize him.

"We once popped his tires, and he didn't even call our parents to ask for the money," said Hansen's niece Amelia. "He was a nice guy. He even cried when he ran over our puppy by accident."

Police contacted Smetzer's brother, who lives outside of Florida. Faulk said his brother did not know Smetzer had died.

The remains were turned over to Anthony Falsetti, a UF professor and director of the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory, Faulk said.

"Professor Falsetti is going to double-check if the remains are Smetzer's," Faulk said. "We're almost 100 percent sure the bones belong to him."