Florida officials have launched an investigation after a human head washed ashore on Key Biscayne south of Miami Beach on Tuesday.
The Miami-Dade Police Department said it received a call around 8.30am by a worker who reported the discovery near the 251 block of Crandon Boulevard.
Responding officers said the worker was raking the beach when he found the head.
Authorities confirmed that it belonged to a person and a section of the beach was cordoned off with yellow police tape for the investigation.
Aerial footage showed officials at the scene examining the remains, which were covered by blue tarp and surrounded by traffic cones.
‘You see all kinds of things here but nothing like this, like we saw this morning. The head of a person,’ Key Biscayne resident Bahman Amini told CBS News.
Another woman who lived in the area told Local10: ‘This is my typical route. Our neighborhood is very safe. We have our children here; our children play on these beaches and it’s just beyond belief.’
A police spokesperson told the outlet that ‘detectives are on scene and are working with the Medical Examiner to determine the identity of the individual.’
Officials also added that the Medical Examiner will be working alongside homicide detectives to identify the person while the investigation continues, according to NBC Miami.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Miami-Dade Police Department for more information.
Key Biscayne, located on a barrier island across the Rickenbacker Causeway from Miami, is described as an ‘an oasis of sandy beaches, nature preserves and restaurants with stunning views.’
The discovery comes a month after a 31-year-old model’s body was found floating near Key Biscayne after she drowned while partying on a yacht.
In that incident, a police report indicated that the model, Adriana Vieria, had joined a group for a swim around 8.30pm on September 21 before they warned her to return to the boat due to the presence of a jellyfish.
The young woman remained in the water and was located floating 10 minutes later near Biscayne Bay.
She was rushed to a local hospital and pronounced dead an hour later.
Vieria and her ex-husband had allegedly fled Brazil after being involved in a multi-million-dollar scam.