Human remains found near a Silverdale beach included a skull which police believe is male, a detective inspector has told Beyond Radio.
Det Insp Adie Knowles of Lancashire Police said DNA tests would be taking place to identify the bones, and he said "we are keeping an open mind of who it might be".
Det Insp Knowles said "about nine" human bones were discovered about two thirds of a mile out into Morecambe Bay.
The discovery was made after police were called to Cove Road beach in the village at 4.10pm on Sunday, March 31, to reports bones had been found in the water.
"Some bones were found in the Bay, probably about two thirds of a mile out," said Det Insp Knowles, speaking on his regular Beyond the Beat segment on Beyond Radio on Tuesday.
"Over a series of searches that have been conducted a couple of days afterwards, we have recovered quite a number of bones. Quite a few of them identified as not human.
"We have recovered a skull which we think is a male.
"We are liaising with the Coroner and we're looking to progress DNA enquiries with that item and reviewing the other bones that we've recovered.
"About nine bones, we think, are human. The significant one is the skull, which will be submitted for DNA testing.
"We are keeping an open mind of who it might be. Sadly there are a number of individuals who remain outstanding from incidents involving the Bay, and slightly wider area, that it could be. We won't know until that DNA work has been completed.
"I hope it is identified to someone we are looking for and that it brings a family closure.
"I investigated a jaw bone that was located on the beach at Bolton-le-Sands last April, DNA work was done on that, and it came back to nobody.
"So I hope that our enquiries with this find, give us something."
Det Insp Knowles said it was "hard to say" how long the bones had been in the sea.
"It looked like it had been out in the elements for a considerable amount of time," he said.
"I've spoken to a number of anthropologists, and whether it's in soil or in the sea, depending on where it is, what soil it's in, it can have a different effect of how it appears when you locate it.
"The first enquiry we need to do is the DNA, and then there's the possibility of carbon dating which will give you an idea of how old it is.
"We want to know who it is. The age is secondary to trying to identify who it is."
Anyone with information which could assist the investigation is asked to call 101. Quote log 745 of 31st March 2024.
Read more: Human remains found in water near Silverdale beach - police confirm - Beyond Radio
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