(NewsNation) — Watching a dog dig for something can always lead to the unexpected. In Alabama, one canine is potentially helping solve a murder mystery by repeatedly bringing home human bones.
Chicarin, a 2-year-old German Shepherd mix, has dragged human bones four times in less than a year after finding them in nearby woods. The latest discovery appeared to be a part of a human skeleton.
The remains were recovered and sent to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office. Investigators also found additional remains in the nearby area where Chicarin was looking around.
Investigators began keeping tabs on Chicarin in August 2024 after Paulina Mejia’s husband, Orlin, spotted her and the family’s other dog, Chicarone (no longer with the family), playing with a skull on the road next to their house.
“He just saw her with the other dog playing with a skull,” Mejia told a local outlet. “My husband was like, ‘This does not look right.’ They didn’t believe it was human remains until detectives came out here.”
An autopsy confirmed the skull had a bullet wound, but no one matched the skull via a DNA profile. Five months later, Chicarin also found a human tibia, which belonged to the same person as the skull. This was followed up in April when Chicarin also discovered a femur, leading authorities to search the property and locate a jawbone of the same victim.
All the discoveries have made Chicarin take on local celebrity status. Social media users have joked about Chicarin joining the police force or being somehow responsible for the death.
Mejia says and her husband have been in full cooperation with authorities during their investigation.