JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released new information detailing how a human bone was discovered near a driveway in Northwest Jacksonville.
JSO says the remains were found near Lincrest Drive South.
The incident report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office details a woman was throwing a softball with her daughter Wednesday night, when her daughter overthrew the ball into their neighbor’s yard.
When she went to grab it, she noticed what appeared to be a “human femur bone lying in the grass” near a driveway.
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She reported the discovery to JSO.
Investigators came out to the scene, and after consulting with the Northeast Florida Medical Examiner’s office, they confirmed it was a human bone.
Finding that bone led them to a backyard on the same street — where they found more human remains.
“If it’s that close what else is going on around us,” said John Thomas, who lives down the road. “It’s scary, it really is!
Action News Jax found that a missing person was reported in this area in 2024, named Roderick Earl Porter.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says Porter would be 56 years old now.
JSO lists Porter’s location as the same as where the remains were found.
It’s not clear yet whose remains these are, but forensics experts are in the process of identifying them.
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“The first thing they’re going to do is they’re going to do a search and a skeletal inventory to make sure they have the full skeleton,” said Carla Perdue, Program Coordinator for Public Safety and Security at FSU Panama City. “If they determined that it was partially buried, then they’re to set up a grid and they will very methodically remove bones layer by layer.”
Perdue has a doctorate in forensic science and a master’s in criminology and forensic science. We asked her how long it could take investigators to get a positive ID on someone if they’re missing.
“If they’ve got dental records, it could go fairly quickly,” Perdue said. “They could probably know in a day or two.”
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A detective on scene confirmed a person was reported missing at this location two years ago, but they do not know yet if there is a connection to the remains found.
JSO says they are now turning their investigation to the inside of the house on the property.
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