Possible human remains found in Wilmington, Delaware, police say

Teen says she found possible human remains in New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County police are investigating what they believe to be human remains, including a skull, found in a wooded area in Wilmington, Delaware, this weekend. 

Police said the remains were found Sunday, just before 5:30: p.m., in a wooded area near Ravine Road and Big Oak Lane in the Highland Woods. 

Police say they are waiting for the results from the medical examiner's office. 

Devon Firlein, 13, said she was completing her volunteer community service hours by collecting trash and enjoying nature when she made the unexpected find.

"I just wanted to find flowers, and I found a skull," Firlein said. "I kind of moved it around with my foot and I was like, 'Whoa, not what I was expecting.'"

Firlein said it all started when she noticed what appeared to be a white ball in a wooded creek area near Ravine Road and Big Oak Lane in the Highland Woods area in Wilmington.

"I go over there, and I said, 'Ok, that's a little bit of a weird shape for a ball,' so I tap it with my foot, and then I see oh it's a skull," she said. "I had no idea I would ever find something like that, especially in Delaware. It's Delaware. Nothing happens here."

Firlein said that after she made the discovery, she immediately left and ran to tell a neighbor who was nearby, and they called 911. 

New Castle County police said Delaware State Police are investigating another set of remains found about 20 minutes away. State police said, around 6 p.m. Sunday, a passerby reported a possible body in a wooded area along Pulaski Highway, near School Bell Road and Appleby Road, in New Castle. 

Police said the body was found in an "advanced state of decomposition."

There is no word on whether these two incidents are related. 

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