Man finds human skull on east side [*WARNING* Graphic Image] - 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio -

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - James Dutting came back from a walk on the city's east side when he noticed something strange in his yard.

He said to himself, "That looks like a human head," so he walked over, and discovered he was right - there in the yard was a human skull.

When Thomas Dutting, James' nephew, went to pick his uncle up for lunch, James asked him to take a look at the gristly find. Thomas says he went to the yard and immediately told his uncle to call the police.

Both men believe one of their dogs brought the skull to the yard and hope the discovery may help reveal a mystery about either a missing person or someone who was murdered.

All around the 2000 block of Vaughn Street, bones litter the yards from the dogs dragging home deer bones from the nearby woods.

Police detectives took photos of the skull then searched looking for more human bones and clues, but the wooded area the dogs roam is large.

The Mahoning County Coroner's Office is assisting the police with processing of the scene and trying to identify who thie skull belonged to.

Lt. Doug Bobovnyik says they will try to make a positive identification through DNA and dental records. A positive identification could help solve the case of a missing person and determine if the person died naturally or from foul play.

Police have some ideas based on local missing person cases, but cannot be certain until a positive identification is made. The skull still had tissue on it suggesting the person's death was not that long ago and making the likelihood of a successful DNA test that much more possible.