LONG BEACH, Calif. (KCAL/KCBS) – An Easter egg hunt took a tragic turn on Sunday after a family discovered possible human remains in a California park.
The stark and disturbing discovery was made at Deforest Park in Long Beach.
Colorful Easter eggs could be seen scattered across a dirt path just feet away from what a family believes is a human skull.
Around 5 p.m. Sunday evening, Long Beach police said they responded to the park after reports of possible human remains.
Officials said the Los Angeles County medical examiner was also called to the scene.
The family who found the possible remains said their children were hunting for Easter eggs when they made the disturbing discovery. They believe it was a human skull, possibly that of a young child. Small bones were found nearby.
“Pretty tragic. It’s a day you want to spend with family. You don’t expect something like this. You expect to have a wholesome time,” Marc Zaldana said.
Zaldana was at the park for an Easter gathering. He said he was walking along a trail when he came across the family just moments after the discovery.
“We saw the family there doing an Easter egg hunt, but they were freaking out a little bit,” Zaldana added.
Hours later, neighbors returned to the scene hoping for answers.
“It’s terrible. We saw police cars down here earlier when we were coming back from service,” Long Beach resident Christopher Cain said.
For many, the focus now is on the children who may have witnessed something no child should ever see.
“Just to be a child and find remains like that, it’s traumatizing,” Cain said.
“I can only imagine finding another kid. It must be tragic for them,” Zaldana said.
Long Beach police said the investigation is ongoing.
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