A skeleton discovered near Millhopper Road a week ago likely belonged to a white, middle-aged male who died between six and 24 months ago, officials said.
The man is believed to have been about 40 to 60 years old and about 5 feet 10 inches tall at the time of his death, according to a press release issued Monday afternoon.
The skeleton was found Jan. 24 in a thick forest near the 5700 block of NW 88th St., according to the release.
It was found among a pair of brown work boots and jeans, said Sgt. Brandon Kutner, a spokesman for the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies, along with UF’s C. A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory and the District 8 Medical Examiner’s Office, have been investigating the case, Kutner said.
The next step, he said, is to find the man’s identity and then a cause of death.
“Right now, as far as identification purposes go, it’s in the hands of the scientific community,” he said.
Deputies have been cross-checking what they know about the man with state and national databases, said Art Forgey, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
Contact Marin Vassolo at mvassolo@alligator.org.
