LAGUNA HILLS : Mystery Likely to Remain Unsolved

Sheriff’s investigators said Wednesday that they may never be able to identify the person whose thighbone was found in Aliso Creek on Sunday.

“It’s just the one bone so there’s not much you can do,” Lt. Dick Olson said. “It’s not like finding a skeleton or a skull, where there’s more to work with and you can find some evidence of cause of death.”

A group of boys were playing in the creek bed when they discovered the bone in the water.

“They took the bone home and showed it to their parents and the parents called us,” Olson said. “A deputy returned to the area with the boys but they couldn’t really pinpoint where they found it.”

Sheriff’s deputies searched the area but have not found any other remains.

A Cal State Fullerton forensic anthropologist who examined the bone this week determined that the bone is probably from the body of a male who was at least 17 years old at the time of his death, which could have occurred six months to five years ago.

Olson said the bone may have washed into the creek from another location and said authorities hold out little hope of identifying the person unless more bones are found.