Grim mystery arises after human skull with a bullet hole discovered on Oklahoma ranch

A human skull with a bullet hole through it recently washed up along a river in Oklahoma leaving investigators with more questions than answers, news outlets report.

A pair of cattle workers at a ranch near Luther stumbled across the skull close to the Deep Fork River, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office told KOCO.

Luther is about 27 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

Investigators aren’t sure if they’re dealing with a murder victim, or someone who died by suicide, KFOR reported. What’s clear is a bullet entered the skull through the forehead, right above an eye socket.

But who the skull once belonged to is a mystery, sheriff’s office spokesman Aaron Brilbeck told KFOR, as is when they died, and where. The skull was discovered Saturday, May 14.

“Whatever happened didn’t happen here, but rather that skull had washed down,” Brilbeck said, adding that no evidence aside from the skull itself was found, despite an extensive search.

The area the skull was found in is a popular party spot, and it isn’t the first time human remains have been uncovered there, Brilbeck told KOCO.

“The skull was found near the Deep Fork River, which oftentimes when it rains, a lot stuff will come and flow into this property,” he said, per KOCO.

So far, investigators have little to go on — even the gender and age are unknown, though the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner is working to make a determination, KOKH reported.

“Somewhere, there is a family missing someone that they love. That family deserves to have answers,” Brilbeck told the outlet. “We will work to try to get them.”

In December, a skull found in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, was identified 16 years later as Rebecca Jean Boyd, who had been reported missing, according to KFOR. Boyd was 29 years old and a mother of two.

This story was originally published May 18, 2022 at 8:43 AM with the headline "Grim mystery arises after human skull with a bullet hole discovered on Oklahoma ranch."