Police: Found bones are not those of a missing person from the 1974 invasion (Update 2)

Police find bones near location of human skull found in Paphos
By Nikolaos Prakas

Bones have been found in Paphos on Monday, near the location where a skull was found a day ago, police said.

On Sunday, in the Koloni area, when the owner of a livestock unit in the area found the human skull outside his premises at about 10am.

The bones found on Monday could potentially belong to the same person, and they were found in the same area.

Police and the civil defence discovered the bones, following investigations at the site since the skull was discovered.

In addition to the bones, remains of clothing have also been identified, while investigations using sniffer dogs continue.

The bones along with skull are being sent for testing by an anthropologist and a state pathologist.

The area has been cordoned off since Sunday.

Police are also investigating their roster of past missing persons, to help identify the remains. According to authorities, the skull does not seem to belong to a person that has died recently, but official results will be announced following the testing.

Speaking later in the day, Paphos police spokesman Michalis Nicolaou said that the bones are not from one of missing persons during the Turkish invasion or prior.

He added however that identifying these bones needed the authorities to coordinate with an anthropologist and that for this matter they contacted the committee on missing persons (CMP), which has these specialists to help.

“However, there is no question, based on the information that the police have so far, that this is a person who went missing during the hostilities and the invasion of 1974,” he said.

Asked about this, Nicolaou said that after the discovery of the human skull and then the bones, possibly human, the police are trying to identify their origin.

He added that no person has been identified, however he noted that the police have some information from experts regarding the age of the person and the time they were exposed to the weather.

“We are collecting this information, and we are awaiting the completion of the genetic testing, to see whether or not they belong to a missing person,” he added.

He added that they are examining the entire area, and searching for witnesses or evidence to draw a conclusion.