DeLAND, Fla. – Volusia County sheriff's deputies are investigating skeletal remains that were found by a resident walking along Oak Street near International Speedway Boulevard.
John Jarvis said he found the garbage bag containing the remains around noon Thursday while he was collecting garbage along the shoulder of the roadway.
"It was a black plastic garbage bag," Jarvis said. "It had been eaten away by the sun or the elements."
Thinking it was garbage someone had dumped, Jarvis said he tried to load the bag into a garbage can to haul away when it sheared open and something fell out.
"I used my hand and pushed on it to see what it was," said Jarvis. "It came out of the bag and laid on its side, and then I realized it was a skull."
Although investigators are not saying anything about who the remains may be, Jarvis said a deputy told him it appeared to be a young girl.
The discovery made many people think of the Suarez family. Yessenia Suarez and her two young children have been missing from their Deltona neighborhood, which is 18 miles away, since late October and presumed dead.
Investigators said it's too early to tell if the two cases are connected.
Jarvis said he hopes his discovery brings someone solace.
"Somebody's going to have some kind of closure, whoever this person belongs to," Jarvis said.