Officials say a child found the remains along a dirt path at DeForest Park, and forensic testing is now underway.
LONG BEACH, Calif. — A child taking part in an Easter egg hunt at DeForest Park found what officials later identified as a human skull Sunday afternoon, turning a family holiday gathering into a death investigation now centered on forensic testing and identification.
The discovery drew swift attention because it happened during a children’s event in a public park and because authorities have released only a narrow set of facts. Long Beach police say the find happened during a private family egg hunt, not a city event. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner has since confirmed that its team recovered a skeletonized human skull and mandible, but officials still have not identified the person, given an age or sex, or said how long the remains had been there.
According to Long Beach police, a 911 caller reported at about 4:48 p.m. Sunday, April 5, that a child searching for eggs along a dirt path in DeForest Park had found what appeared to be a skull buried in the dirt. Officers responded to the scene, taped off part of the trail and called the Los Angeles County medical examiner because of the nature of the discovery. By that evening, investigators had begun working the area. The county medical examiner said one of its investigators responded Sunday for an initial assessment, then returned Monday morning with its Special Operations Response Team to recover the remains. Kelly Vail, a spokesperson for the department, later described what was recovered as a “skeletonized human skull and mandible.” The remains were taken to the Forensic Science Center in Los Angeles for examination, shifting the case from a park-side discovery to a forensic identification effort that may take weeks, months or longer.
The public record remains thin, and that has become one of the story’s central facts. The medical examiner has assigned the case number 2026-05656 and listed it as Unidentified Doe #196. In a brief public statement, the office said only that “limited information is currently available” because the death investigation is ongoing. Officials have not said whether the remains belong to an adult or a child. They have not announced a preliminary cause or manner of death. Police also have not said how long the skull and jawbone were in the park or whether the remains were moved there from somewhere else. ABC7 reported that police said no other remains were found with the skull. Long Beach police spokeswoman Andrea Moran told Patch that whether the case is ultimately investigated as a murder will depend on the medical examiner’s findings, a reminder that homicide investigators can respond to a scene before authorities determine that a killing occurred.
The location helps explain why the discovery unsettled so many people so quickly. DeForest Park and Wetlands is a 49.6-acre public site in north Long Beach, with a city-owned park area and a larger nature-trail section that runs through restored wetlands near the Los Angeles River. City records say the park is open from dawn to dusk and that the wetlands section, which opened to the public in 2018, includes trails, wildlife habitat and educational features. Local television reports placed the discovery near the walking path and adjacent to East Osgood Street, not far from the 710 Freeway. That is a heavily used area for routine neighborhood activity: walking, jogging, family outings and informal gatherings like the Easter egg hunt that was underway Sunday. The fact that brightly colored plastic eggs remained scattered near the taped-off path in aerial footage only sharpened the contrast between an ordinary holiday outing and an unexpected death investigation.
The case also lands in a region where unidentified-remains investigations can move slowly, even after a scene is processed. Local reporting noted that Long Beach authorities dealt with another unresolved remains case after bones were found on Junipero Beach in April 2025. In that case, officials were still trying to establish the person’s identity even after DNA work and a biological profile suggested the remains likely belonged to a woman over 40. That earlier case has not been publicly linked to the DeForest Park discovery, and there is no indication the two are related. Still, it offers a practical point of comparison for what comes next here. When investigators recover skeletal remains without clothing, identification or a clear witness history, even basic questions can stay unanswered for a long time. In the DeForest Park case, authorities have so far disclosed even less. They have not said whether any personal effects were found nearby, whether the soil showed signs of recent disturbance or whether the remains were exposed by weather, animals or human activity before the child spotted them.
The next stage now belongs largely to forensic specialists. At the county’s Forensic Science Center, examiners are expected to study the skull and jawbone for identifying features, signs of trauma and clues that could help estimate age and biological profile. They may compare the remains against missing-person records and national databases, and DNA testing could become a central tool if there are no immediate visual identifiers. The medical examiner’s office told Patch there is no set timetable for an identification and that the process could take “months or longer.” Until that work is finished, police say they are holding back broader conclusions. No arrest has been announced, no suspect has been named and no agency has said publicly that there is evidence of foul play. The investigation is open, but it is still in an early phase in which the most important questions depend on laboratory findings rather than on what officers saw at the trail.
Residents who were near the park Sunday described the moment as jarring not just because of what was found, but because children were present when it happened. Marc Zaldana, who spoke to CBS Los Angeles after walking near the trail, said the family that found the remains appeared shaken and “were freaking out a little bit.” Fernando Guzman told ABC7, “I’m sorry for whoever’s kids that even saw that,” reflecting a concern repeated by neighbors who said they felt for the children involved before they even knew who the remains belonged to. Gabriel Rivas, another resident, told the station he and his girlfriend regularly walk and run there and had thought of the trail as safe. Police later added a clarifying detail that mattered to the city as well as to the public: Moran said the egg hunt was a private gathering and “not city-sponsored or hosted,” meaning the event itself was informal even though it took place in a public park.
By Tuesday, authorities had confirmed the basic outline of the case but little more: a child found human remains during an Easter egg hunt at DeForest Park, the county recovered a skull and jawbone, and the medical examiner took custody for testing. The next public milestone is likely to be a forensic update on identity, age and whether investigators can determine how the person died.
Author note: Last updated April 7, 2026.