Human skull found by dog in neighborhood identified as missing person
By Taylor Lang, Lisa Crane
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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Alabama (WVTM) — The Jefferson County coroner identified several human remains on Thursday that were found by neighborhood dogs in Birmingham.
A human skull and a long bones were found by a neighborhood dog starting back in August of 2024. More remains were discovered by a K-9 team, the coroner said.
Those remains belong to Curtis Taylor Jr., from Center Point, according to the coroner. He was reported missing on Feb. 21, 2024, from a family residence that was across the street from where the dog found his remains.
The timeline Aug. 20, 2024
A human skull was found on the shoulder of the road next to a home. It is believed the skull was found by a dog and moved from its original location. A search found no other remains.
Dec. 13, 2024
The coroner’s office performed an autopsy on the skull, which showed the victim had been shot. While the analysis developed a full DNA profile, the Jefferson County coroner said that it did not match anyone in the national database.
The same dog that found the skull found a long bone in the front yard of the same home. Deputies checked nearby vacant homes and doorbell cameras, but couldn’t find where it came from.
Dec. 20, 2024
The long bone was found to be from the same person that the skull was from, according to the coroner.
According to the owners, Birmingham police put a tracker on one of the dogs in December of 2024 to determine where they were finding these bones. Officials hope tracking the dog’s roaming patterns will help them figure out where the dog found the bones.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office worked with law enforcement to see if there were missing-persons cases that could be connected to the case.
March 4, 2025
DNA analysis confirmed all of the human remains are from the same person, but that person was not identified.
Multiple missing persons cases were ruled out.
The GPS locations of where the dogs from the residence travel were used to search more areas, but no remains were found.
Aug. 8, 2025
A K-9 search found more skeletal remains in the woods at the property of Taylor’s family.
Aug. 11, 2025
Another long bone was found.
Dec. 4, 2025
All the skeletal remains come from the same person who has been identified as Curtis Taylor Jr., 25. He was visually impaired and reported missing by his family, who lives across the street, on Feb. 21, 2024.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating his death.
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