Skulls found on a New Mexico property earlier this month were obtained online and are not related to the case of a woman who went missing in 2019, the Lea County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
The sheriff’s office had said that someone in the county had given a man a ride, and that man, who was carrying two bags, “made alarming statements and discarded objects from the vehicle, some of which appeared to be human bones.”
Human remains were found after a search of a property associated with the man in Jal, a city of around 2,000 in the southeastern part of the state, the sheriff’s office said last week.
A further investigation determined the seven skulls that were retrieved had ornamental pieces or carvings that are from outside the United States, and that “investigators have determined that the skulls were procured online,” the office said Thursday.
The medical examiner determined the remains found on the property had “no medical or legal significance,” the sheriff’s office said.
“The remains will be medically cremated,” it said.
On Nov. 12, shortly after the discovery of the remains, the sheriff’s office said it could be related to Angela McManes, who disappeared in 2019.
Two days later, the sheriff’s office said there did not appear to be a link between the skulls and McManes beyond the proximity of her home to the property where the skulls were found.
