Human remains uncovered at site of proposed home in gated community, Florida cops say

Crews working in a “luxury gated community” along Florida’s northeast coast found suspected human bones at the site of a proposed home, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened around 4:45 p.m. Monday, July 18, in the Toscana development in Palm Coast, about 60 miles southeast of Jacksonville, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Workers were excavating along Old Kings Road when the bone was uncovered, and Eden’s Site Development contacted the sheriff’s office. A photo of the bone was then sent to the Medical Examiner’s Office, which confirmed it was likely human, officials said.

“Deputies responded to the scene and additional skeletal remains were located in the freshly excavated area,” the sheriff’s office said. “The Medical Examiner responded and collected the skeletal remains and indicated the remains were human.”

An investigation is underway and multiple county departments are working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to identify the person “and determine a cause of death,” officials said.

“We are going to remain on scene until we are able to determine the identity of the person and exactly what happened,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in the release.

“At this time we won’t know how these remains got there or if this was a homicide, natural death or suicide. We will do everything we can to identify the remains and bring closure to a family.”

Toscana describes itself as a gated community of “luxurious” Mediterranean-style homes. They range in price from over $600,000 to over $1 million.

Human remains have been found at multiple Florida construction sites this year, including “very old” bones unearthed in Nassau County in April and a mummified baby found in June in Gulf County, McClatchy News reported.

This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Human remains uncovered at site of proposed home in gated community, Florida cops say."