A 911 call reporting a human skull in the woods north of an apple orchard in Pultneyville set off a two-day search along the Lake Ontario shoreline, but investigators wrapped up field work Thursday without finding anything beyond the skeletal remains recovered the evening before. Wayne County Sheriff's deputies, joined by New York State Police, spent Wednesday and Thursday combing the wooded stretch between Lake Road and the lake, ultimately closing out the ground search with no additional bones located.
According to Finger Lakes Daily News, deputies and troopers secured the area after the initial skeletal remains were recovered, then returned Thursday to finish combing the site before standing down. The original report came from WHEC-TV, which said deputies responded to the 911 call and were assisted at the scene by state police and the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office, with additional skeletal remains found in the immediate area per the sheriff's office.
Why Monroe County Is Handling the Forensics
Wayne County does not run its own medical examiner's office, instead relying on a multi-year contract with the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office in Rochester to conduct autopsies and forensic examinations, according to the Wayne County Board of Supervisors, which periodically renews two-year agreements for that pathology work. That arrangement explains why Monroe County officials were on hand in Pultneyville to begin examining the remains alongside local and state investigators.
Once forensic analysis gets underway, state law sets firm rules for what happens next. Under New York Executive Law § 838, county medical examiners and coroners must submit identifying data and forensic details on unidentified remains to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, per the National Institute of Justice, which notes New York was the first state to mandate that kind of NamUs participation. Separately, if testing determines the remains are more than 50 years old, the Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act requires the medical examiner or coroner to notify the State Archaeologist within 96 hours, according to the Town of Victor's official website explaining Executive Law § 171.
A Historic Lakeshore Hamlet Surrounded by Orchards
The discovery site sits in Pultneyville, an unincorporated hamlet of 817 residents in the town of Williamson, where Salmon Creek meets Lake Ontario amid commercial fruit orchards, per the U.S. Census Bureau. The historic Great Lakes port has an old-fashioned, close-knit character even as it becomes the backdrop for an active death investigation.
Wayne County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information to call (315) 946-5800, per the original WHEC report. No additional remains have been found beyond what was recovered Wednesday evening, and it remains unclear how long forensic identification could take.
Another Wayne County Investigation
New York State Police continue a homicide investigation in Wayne County.
One unresolved Wayne County file involves William Michael Zani Jr., who disappeared in October 2005 after his car was found abandoned in Walworth, according to The Charley Project.
