The Melrose Police blotter this week contained news of a gruesome discovery: part of a human hand was found in the ground at Swains Pond. The authorities were called in, the crime scene was cordoned off, investigators approached the remains, and discovered…. that it was some leftover squid, probably used as bait to catch fish.
This was not the first case of mistaken identity of human remains in the Melrose woods. In late September of 1907, Officer James Hanley of the Melrose Police was on moth extermination detail in the woods at the end of Ferdinand Street when he was appalled to discover a partially buried and charred human leg bone sticking out of the ground. The station was notified, the neighbors were questioned, and the Boston papers were full of the news of a horrific mystery unfolding in Melrose.
The next day, those same newspapers carried a correction: after careful investigation by the city physician, it was determined that Officer Hanley had in fact found a ham bone.
The photo you see of a skull stuck in a broken branch was found last week in those same woods off of Ferdinand Street by the author of this post, who was quite shocked to find it—but remembering the story of Officer Hanley, he resolved not to jump to any rash conclusions!
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