After a human skeleton was found in Cuyahoga Falls, Detective John Stewart said there’s a possibility that they discovered either an ancient Native American burial ground or an old family farm burial plot.
In 1952, fragments of two human skeletons were found close to Seventeenth Street and Phelps Avenue. The discovery unfolded during the development of a new housing project, where a digging machine was excavating an area behind 2450 17th Street.
After the workers had completed their day, two young boys, Donald Hinkle, aged 14, from 2306 21st Street, and Larry Keener, aged 13, from 2429 16th Street, jumped in the ditch to play. Before long, the boys discovered what they thought was an animal bone. Unfazed, they grabbed wooden stakes and began digging further into the embankment.
Twenty minutes into their play of “war,” a human skull caught their eye, peeking out at them. With a frightened cry, they climbed out and hurried to a neighbor’s house, who quickly assessed the situation and accompanied the boys to the Falls police station. Detective Stewart called the Summit County Coroner, Dr. William J. Pittenger.
After carefully sifting the soft, sandy earth, they uncovered a human skull, a pelvic bone, a rib cage, vertebrae, arm bones, and one leg bone. Dr. Pittenger stated that he believed the remains belonged to a young adult. The skull had an intact set of teeth, with no cavities or fillings. Additionally, the body was buried without any clothing; and no buttons or metal buckles were discovered.
A theory was proposed that the discovered remains might belong to Jerry Pascarella, a 23-year-old racketeer from Youngstown who went missing on April 25, 1945. His blood-stained car was found abandoned in Cuyahoga Falls, leading authorities to suspect that he may have been buried within the city.
When the police and the coroner were prepared to send the remains to Washington for analysis at the FBI laboratory, young Donald put a temporary halt to the plans.
His grandmother wanted to see where the remains were found, so Donald took her back to the ditch and demonstrated where the skeleton was found. Within minutes, he unearthed a second skull and pelvic bone.
The discovery of the second set of remains and the fact that the Falls police had only one missing person case in their files could rule out the possibility that Pascarella’s skeleton had been found.
Dr. Pittenger believed that the remains were ancient, even though the majority of the bones were in good condition.
Detective Stewart attempted to determine who owned or lived on the property in the years prior but no update can be found.
While the authorities concerned themselves with what else might lie buried in the area, young Larry and Donald rested on their laurels.
“A regular Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn,” is how Mrs. Arthur D. Keener, Larry’s mother, described the boy’s reactions to their discoveries.
While Stewart was looking for missing teeth, originally found with the first skull, Mrs. Keener said, “I know where two teeth are that those boys will never part with.”
