In a bizarre story out of Goodyear, Arizona, a human skull was discovered in a donation box at a Goodwill store, prompting a police investigation.

The grim find was reported by a vigilant employee who feared it might be linked to a criminal or missing-person case.

The disturbing incident came to light when an employee contacted authorities after stumbling upon the skull.

In a photograph shared by the Goodyear Police Department, the skull appeared weathered, with a prosthetic blue eye affixed to the right socket.

Goodyear Police Department’s public information officer, Lisa Berry, addressed the media during a news conference, and revealed that the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office had examined the skull.

The initial findings suggested that the skull is likely of historic and ancient origin, with no forensic relevance or connection to any criminal activity.

“We did speak with the medical examiner’s office, and they did confirm that it is, in fact, a human skull, but at this point, and this is preliminary, it appears to be historic, ancient and does not appear to have any forensic value at all, and what that means is that no crime is really attached to this skull,” Berry stated.

The news of the unusual discovery shocked both customers and store employees, who said that this ranked as one of the strangest donations they have seen.

One shopper, Sydney Steele, was surprised that someone would donate such an artifact.

“I’ve never heard of anything donated like this, especially here. I come to this Goodwill all the time and I’ve never heard of anything that crazy being donated.”

Interestingly, a Goodwill store in Illinois also called police in February this year after they received a hand grenade as a donation.

In both cases, store employees followed standard protocol by calling 9-1-1.

Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona representatives said that they followed their established protocol by promptly reporting the donation to the police.

Berry confirmed this.

“Goodwill did do the right thing. Anything suspicious should always be reported, and certainly anything that appears to be human remains should be reported to police right away,” Berry said.

The skull was subsequently transported to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office, where authorities confirmed its authenticity as a human skull.

Despite the eerie nature of the find, it appears that no criminal charges will be filed against the individual who donated the skull.

The identity of the donor and the ultimate disposition of the historic skull remain uncertain.