Human Skull Found Near the Hollywood Sign Confirmed as Female [Video]

A human skull found by two hikers in Griffith Park on March 19, has been identified as female according to ABC News. The skull that was found near the famous Hollywood sign has been identified by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office as belonging to a woman who was older than 20 when she died.

Two hikers made the gruesome find by the Hollywood sign whilst hiking the Brush Canyon trail, which passes the iconic sign. They found the skull at about 2 p.m. when they veered off the main walking trail. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) were quick to respond to the scene.

The area near the Hollywood sign where the head was found is densely overgrown and has rocky terrain, LAPD police had to use a rope to rappel down 100 yards to retrieve the skull and search for other body parts and evidence. So far no other body parts have been found in the massive park which spans 6.5 square miles.

The woman’s identity is still unknown, as is the time of death. Authorities have said death could have occurred between one to ten years ago according to the Coroner’s Captain, John Kadus, but park rangers believe the skull has been near the Hollywood Sign for a few years.

The dead women is being referred to by police and the coroner as ‘Jane Doe 22’ according to City News Service. Jane Doe 22’s skull is not the first head to be found near the Hollywood sign. In 2012, the severed head of Hervey Medellin, a 66-year-old-man, was found stuffed in a plastic bag in Bronson Canyon — the head of Medellin was also found by a hiker.

Hikers in the area have said that the parks surrounding the Hollywood sign are the perfect place for someone to get away with murder. The eastern Santa Monica Mountain range, Griffith Park, is considered the largest municipal park in the nation and Paula Mindays, a regular hiker in the area, said it is an easily accessible area that provides coverage for someone trying to hide a body.

“It’s pretty rugged and a lot of shrubberies and bush. You know, once you get off the beaten trail anything could be happening there.”

If the hikers had not veered off Brush Canyon walking trail they would not have spotted the female skull, and it could have gone unseen for many more years. The investigation is continuing.

[Photo by Santi Visalli/Getty Images]