‘It freaked me out’: Independence man finds human skull while mushroom hunting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - On Tuesday, an Independence man came across an unexpected find while mushroom hunting.

For three years, Josh Shearer has been hunting mushrooms in the woods near S. Norwood Ave and W. Sheley Road.

On Wednesday, KCTV5 caught up with Shearer about finding more than just mushrooms on Tuesday.

“I found nine of them yesterday. I found five of them the day before,” said Josh Shearer.

Mushroom hunting is a favorite hobby of Shearer’s.

“I love eating them I love finding ‘em more,” said Shearer.

He said he’s combed the woods by his home at least 100 times.

“Every year since I’ve lived there I’ve been up there,” said Shearer.

After a good rain and weather, he said this week is the time to mushroom hunt.

As he walked through the woods Tuesday, he stumbled upon something more.

“It was in plain sight though it was plain visible I knew it was real cause it had the lines of the top of its head,” said Shearer.

He said he found a human skull in a hole next to a tree.

“It freaked me out I took off running,” said Shearer.

A creepy and scary moment for him.

“Had his face caved in,” said Shearer.

He ran to get his neighbor to confirm it was real.

“He came back and told me it looks real to me, so I called 911 and they told me that it was real. I’m not going in those woods no more,” said Shearer.

As police made their way to the neighborhood, Wess Heavner had Shearer and the other neighbor at his door telling him what happened.

“Not exactly a morel,” said neighbor, Wess Heavner. He added, “He was hunting for mushrooms, he wasn’t looking for body parts.”

Now Independence Police continue to investigate who this could be.

“It was really weird but there were no other bones around it nothing like that,” said Shearer.

Neighbors want to know too, saying somebody is looking for someone.

“Probably thinking about it all the time, every day, wondering where their loved one is,” said Heavner.

As of Wednesday afternoon, IPD did not have any new updates to the case.

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