A casual Saturday outing at Linda Lane Beach in San Clemente took a grisly turn when beachgoer Katherine Kinnison says she uncovered what appeared to be the bottom half of a human jawbone, complete with four teeth, buried in the sand. She alerted nearby lifeguards, who contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies collected the fragment and sent it to the county coroner for testing, and authorities have not yet released any identification or cause of death.
Kinnison later described the discovery to the New York Post, noting that along this same stretch of sand she had previously stumbled across seal bones and pieces of fish vertebrae, according to the New York Post. Sgt. Lizbeth Gwisdalla told the outlet that deputies do not currently consider the find suspicious or malicious. She said the skull fragment is now with the coroner’s office, which is coordinating with the California Native American Heritage Commission.
Coroner review and tribal consultation
The county coroner is tasked with determining whether the jawbone fragment is recent or of archaeological origin and whether it should be treated as evidence in a case. That decision will shape what happens next. If the coroner concludes the remains are Native American, state procedures require that the California Native American Heritage Commission be notified. The commission then designates a most likely descendant who can review the discovery and advise on appropriate handling, according to the California Native American Heritage Commission. The commission notes that designated descendants are generally given 48 hours to inspect the site once they are granted access.
Local history and cultural sensitivity…