SAN JOSE — A woman who was going to retrieve her cellphone Thursday afternoon made a grisly discovery when she stumbled across a human skull near Interstate 280 and San Jose City College, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The remains were found near Moorpark and Richmond avenues, on the freeway side of a fence separating Moorpark and 280, according to CHP Officer Ross Lee.
Authorities also located what appears to be a human femur bone, Lee said.
The woman was in an argument with a friend, who threw her cell phone over the fence, Lee said. The woman went to get her phone and made the discovery.
She immediately called San Jose police. Officers responded and confirmed the remains were human.
Because the remains were found on the freeway side of the fence, the investigation falls under the jurisdiction of the CHP.
The CHP will work with the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office in attempting to identify the gender and age of the remains.
“We can assume it’s been there for some time,” Lee said, adding the remains were skeletal.
On Wednesday, human remains were discovered in unincorporated Gilroy, near Gavilan College, by Pacific Gas & Electric contractors working on power lines. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is working to identify the person but did say the skull had a gold-capped tooth, ruling out the person was missing Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar, who authorities believe was murdered by a Morgan Hill man.
Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869, and follow him at Twitter.com/markmgomez.
