Bellport child finds skull shard at beach

Suffolk investigators are examining what appears to be part of a human skull that was found by a first grader last week during a school outing at the Bellport Village beach, police said.

Richard Rieb, the Bellport waterfront director, said Tuesday that he was at the village's Ho-Hum Beach June 8 with about 90 children from the South Country School in Patchogue.

"They were looking for sea shells." Rieb said. But at one point, a first grader "came over to me with a zip lock bag with the bottom half of a jaw bone," he said.

Suffolk Homicide Det. Sgt. Thomas Groneman confirmed Tuesday that what the girl found on the beach, appears to be human remains, and it was turned over to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner for positive identification.

No determination has been made as to its origin, Groneman said, and there is no indication at this time that any foul play was involved.