Volunteer Cleaning Crew Finds Skull in Old Seattle Park Homeless Camp

A group known for their public cleanup and community service efforts says they found a human skull in a park earlier this month.

   Remains turned over to the Seattle Police Department

The group We Heart Seattle was cleaning up a park area near Seattle's Lower Queen Anne Neighborhood, in a wooded area beneath the Aurora Bridge.

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On January 8th, cleanup crews unearthed a human skull, and some other related remains, while cleaning up what was said to be an old homeless camping area.

According to MyNorthwest.com:

"Trees had fallen down over the years had been cut through to make space for makeshift forts and camps. We Heart Seattle staff even spotted trash with expiration dates dating back to 2018."

Workers said the area was full of garbage, several feet deep, bottles of urine, piles of needles, and other related garbage had eroded down a slope in the area. No homeless people are said to have been camping there for several years. According to MyNorthwest.com:

"Many of the sites are defunct, abandoned or cleared-out encampments within public spaces. Between Oct. 2020 and Oct. 2023, the organization said it collected over a million pounds of garbage across approximately 300 cleanups. It added that more than 10,000 volunteer hours were logged to achieve this."

However, while searchers and cleaning crews have come across a deceased person once or twice, this is the first time they have found skeletal remains, that are strongly believed to have been those of a homeless person.

The Seattle PD will conduct forensic work to try to determine the person's identity.