A medical examiner is working to identify the human remains that were uncovered after Hurricane Matthew swept north along Flagler County’s coastline in October.

  • 2nd set of human remains found Monday near Varn Park
  • Deputies said bones were sticking out of the sand dunes
  • Hurricane Matthew caused erosion, which exposed remains

The human remains were found Monday about .5 miles north of Varn Park. Investigators said they aren't ruling out foul play in the case.

It was the second set of human remains found within a week in Flagler County. Human remains were also found Nov. 23 in a heavily wooded area in the southern part of Flagler County, the Sherriff's Office said.

The two cases don't appear to be related, deputies said.

The remains were buried in the sand at Varn Park. They were unearthed after Hurricane Matthew's storm surged stirred up the coastline.

"It was a little scary," said Phyllis Huhn, a beachgoer in the area.

According to the Sheriff's Office, workers were cleaning up the beach along State Road A1A when they found skeletal remains tucked inside the dunes. Deputies said bones were sticking out of the sand when workers found the remains.

"It's disgusting, it's horrible and it's hard to understand why," Tom Byrne said.

Investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Sheriff's Office were digging in the area Tuesday and found major body parts that will likely help the medical examiner determine the person's identity and the cause of death.

Flagler County deputies said it could take a month — maybe longer — to identify the person, but investigators said the way the body was discovered leads them to think foul play could be involved.

"We believe that this body was placed into that grave," said Director Jim Troiano, a spokesman with the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. "We don't believe that this body has been in the ground for a long time. Certainly several years, but not Indian burial."

Troiano said the bones would not have been located "at this time" if Hurricane Matthew didn't erode the sand dunes.

The Sheriff's Office said there are several missing person cases open, but there isn't enough information to tie the most recent finding to anyone just yet.

Anyone with information about this discovery or information about any crime in Flagler County is asked to contact the Flagler County Sheriff's Office at 386-313-4911 or Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 888-277-TIPS (8477).