Human Skull Discovered in Donation Box at Michigan Goodwill

Only in Michigan: police in Chelsea are trying to figure out why a human skull ended up in a Goodwill donation pile.

Police were called to the Goodwill store on South Main Street after employees found something alarming mixed in with a box of donated items. Officers confirmed the item was, in fact, a human skull, wrapped inside a shirt along with the rest of the donation. Chelsea is about 15 miles west of Ann Arbor.

Where the Skull Was Found

The responding officer didn’t observe any obvious damage or unusual holes in the skull, and there’s nothing so far to suggest it’s linked to any crime. Still, it was treated as something that needed more scrutiny and police have since handed it over to the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s Office for analysis.

Police Search for Person Who Donated Skull at Goodwill Store

Now, the Chelsea police department is trying to find the woman who dropped off the donation. Surveillance photos were released, and police say one of the items in her donation “appears to have been accidentally included.” They want to talk with her to confirm what was going on — intentional or not.

News of the unusual donation spread quickly through the small town. Brad Timm is a resident of Chelsea, telling WXYZ-TV that he learned the news from a friend.

"Assuming it's not a Chelsea resident because we're a small town and someone would probably know her," Timm said, "We hope it's not like the series 'Dexter.'"