One of the effects from the deluge of rain that Tropical Storm Debby dumped on Bulloch County this week was the exposure of a skeleton on the edge of the A.C. Dunlap Cemetery on East Olliff St., off Packinghouse Road, in Statesboro.

“Yes, erosion due to rain unearthed a portion of a human skeleton,” Statesboro Police Chief Mike Broadhead said. “We summoned (Bulloch County Coroner Richard Pylant) to the scene and under his direction, detectives removed the skeleton and transported it to the coroner's office. 

“We do not have an identification on the remains, and there was no marker, but we will work with the coroner and the owner of the cemetery on next steps. At this point, we do not suspect any criminal conduct is involved.”

Pylant said the cement cover of the grave had actually already been partially broken and caved in. He thinks the heavy rain washed away the dirt that was covering the remains and exposed the skull and other parts of the skeleton.

“We felt it best to remove the skeleton remains in a dignified manner and place them in the county cooler for preservation,” Pylant said. “We don’t know if we’ll ever find out who it is. There have never been any thorough records kept of the cemetery.”

The A.C. Dunlap Cemetery is also known as the “Colored People Cemetery.” The cemetery was founded in 1903 when there were no cemeteries to properly bury blacks without going to county churches, so a plot of land was purchased by some of the local black residents of Statesboro.

With nearly 700 graves, this cemetery is the largest African American burial ground in the county. It is behind the originally “all white,” Eastside Cemetery, which fronts on Northside Drive East. Eastside is owned and maintained by the city of Statesboro and no longer segregated.

Pylant said he has consulted with Richard Stanley, who is a member of the board of the Georgia Coroner’s Training Council in Forsyth, about procedures and possible ways to identify the remains.

But with no marker or any other indication of who may have been in the grave, Pylant isn’t optimistic they will discover the identity of the person.

“We will probably end up reburying the person back (in the A.C. Dunlap Cemetery),” Pylant said. “We will try to give the soul that had been buried there and thought that would be their final resting place some peace.

“We will put him in a vault and place a marker. If any family or anyone comes forward in the future, we will have a marker.”