MILTON TOWNSHIP Authorities investigate jawbone find

The coroner said he doubts there's foul play involved.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
LAKE MILTON -- Authorities aren't saying much about a jawbone found over the weekend in Milton Township.
Township police won't say for sure where it was found.
"We don't want to cause a panic in the neighborhood," said Detective Sgt. Frank Tomaino. "We don't want residents to think there's been someone chopping people up out there."
That's probably not the case, although it's too soon to say so for sure, said Mahoning County Coroner David Kennedy. The bone, which appears to be from a human, has a smoothed edge, as if it had been sawed off and used as a teaching tool for anatomy or forensics, Dr. Kennedy said.
"When all is said and done, I think that's all it's going to be," Kennedy said. "I don't think it's going to end up being an entire body."
Found on private property
Tomaino said the bone was found Sunday in a slag pile on some private property. It was found by the property owner, though Tomaino would not identify the owner or even say what street the property is on.
He said the slag was hauled to the site from another area, but was not sure where it had come from. He did not believe it came from inside Mahoning County.
"However it got there, it more than likely happened somewhere else and was delivered here with the slag," Tomaino said. "We really don't know that much at this point."
Crime scene
The site is being treated as a crime scene for now, until more information is received from the coroner's office. Until then, police consider the finding suspicious, he said.
Kennedy said he'll seek help from an anthropologist to determine the approximate age of the bone and how long it has been exposed to the elements.
"It looks like it's been outside for a while," he said.
No other bones or body parts were found at the site.
bjackson@vindy.com