While playing by a creek in Homeland Park, Anderson County, South Carolina, a group of children stumbled upon what they initially believed to be deer remains. The discovery on Sunday quickly turned from innocent curiosity to a chilling revelation.

The youngsters were exploring the creek’s base when they uncovered what appeared to be a piece of rock. “I digged it up. I thought it was just a piece of rock,” one boy recounted to FOX Carolina. However, the surprise deepened when his brother noted, “But then you flipped it over and you saw this thing’s eye sockets.”

In their youthful curiosity, the children brought the skull back to their parents, who were understandably shocked by the find. Realizing the gravity of the situation, one of the mothers promptly contacted the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

Working alongside the county coroner’s office, the authorities confirmed that the bone was indeed a human skull, as reported by WHNS. The discovery has undoubtedly left the community and the families involved in a state of bewilderment and concern.

So, the curious kids picked up the skull and carried it over to their horrified parents.

One of the children’s mothers called the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, which — with assistance from the county’s coroner’s office — determined that the bone they discovered was actually a human skull, WHNS reported.

As officials continued to comb the scene, they dredged up another 50 human bones that the coroner surmised had been there for “10 plus years” based on how the roots had coiled around them, the outlet reported.

“That’s still a guess,” the coroner admitted, noting that the bones were “pretty weathered.”

The coroner estimated that the remains belonged to someone between the ages of 15 and 25 whose body likely floated downstream at some point, WSPA reported.

The skull itself was in pristine condition with no visible fractures.

It’s still not clear who the bones may have belonged to. A full adult human body is made up of 206 bones.

Officials were back at the scene searching for more bones on Monday.

The Anderson County Coroner’s Office and the sheriff’s office are still investigating the discovery. It’s still too soon for either party to determine if foul play was involved in the victim’s death.

On Thursday, a severed leg that washed ashore in California in 2022 was linked to a banker who was reported missing in 1999.

The missing man, 59-year-old Walter Karl Kinney, was originally declared dead in 2003, four years after one of his legs was found on a beach.