thedrifter
10-11-08, 03:15 PM
Skull in luggage causes stir at Arizona airport
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, October 12, 2008
Transportation Security Administration screeners received a surprise when they discovered a human skull in a piece of checked luggage at Tucson International Airport on Wednesday morning, according to a report on the Web site for KNXV-TV in Phoenix.
The skull was discovered at about 6:30 a.m. after it set off an alarm.
The woman who owned the suitcase in which the skull was found had already boarded her flight, but was pulled off the plane by security officers for questioning, KNXV reported.
She told police she was taking it to Philadelphia for Halloween.
Tucson police questioned the woman and searched her home, according to the report. The woman was cleared of any wrongdoing and was allowed to board a later flight.
She said her boyfriend brought the skull home after his military deployment in Japan. It had been sitting in her garden for about four years, police told KNXV.
A medical examiner confirmed that the skull had likely been sitting outside for a long period of time because it contained traces of dirt, moss and algae, the station reported.
The medical examiner determined the skull belongs to a human male of Japanese decent, 20 to 30 years of age at the time of death, according to KNXV.
Federal investigators are now looking into whether her boyfriend legally obtained the skull.
Ellie
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, October 12, 2008
Transportation Security Administration screeners received a surprise when they discovered a human skull in a piece of checked luggage at Tucson International Airport on Wednesday morning, according to a report on the Web site for KNXV-TV in Phoenix.
The skull was discovered at about 6:30 a.m. after it set off an alarm.
The woman who owned the suitcase in which the skull was found had already boarded her flight, but was pulled off the plane by security officers for questioning, KNXV reported.
She told police she was taking it to Philadelphia for Halloween.
Tucson police questioned the woman and searched her home, according to the report. The woman was cleared of any wrongdoing and was allowed to board a later flight.
She said her boyfriend brought the skull home after his military deployment in Japan. It had been sitting in her garden for about four years, police told KNXV.
A medical examiner confirmed that the skull had likely been sitting outside for a long period of time because it contained traces of dirt, moss and algae, the station reported.
The medical examiner determined the skull belongs to a human male of Japanese decent, 20 to 30 years of age at the time of death, according to KNXV.
Federal investigators are now looking into whether her boyfriend legally obtained the skull.
Ellie