Human bone found offshore at popular Aussie beach
The bone will undergo forensic testing to determine its identity.
A human bone has been found in waters off the coast of Byron Bay in northern NSW.
The bone, which is believed to be a tibia, was found earlier this month by a recreational scuba diver near the Wollongbar shipwreck at Belongil beach, with the bone noticeable to the diver as it stuck out of the sand.
Police have confirmed to Yahoo News Australia the bone is human remains and it will undergo forensic testing to determine who it belongs to.
"We've got an ongoing forensic examination to identify the origins of the bone and to compare that with any of our known missing persons," Chief Inspector Kehoe told the ABC.
He added the bone had already undergone preliminary testing which indicated it had not been in the water for long, with its "substantial size" also contributing to this belief.
"[The] bone has only been in the water for a short period of time, being either weeks or at most a couple of months," he said.
Diver reveals how he discovered human bone
Dive instructor Jason Baker told the ABC he was conducting an open water dive course with students when he made the discovery. "This object was quite clean, angular and a light yellow colour and it really caught my eye ... I had a real sense it was human," he said.
After using a knife to free the bone from the sand bed and completing his dive, Mr Baker said he took it straight to Byron police station to inform authorities.
"I think all of us were cognisant there have been quite a few missing persons undiscovered here," he said, sharing he felt "deeply" about the discovery and its implication for families desperately seeking answers.
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