Mystery of human hand found in Staten Island woods solved by police

The investigation helped figure out why a decomposed human hand was found by a dog breeder in the woods of Staten Island, police said.

The gruesome find was made in North Mount Loretto State Forest, near Amboy and Cunningham Roads, around 2:40 p.m. Thursday. Officers responded to the 200-acre space on the South Shore, as did the medical examiner’s office.

Police said fingerprint analysis of the hand showed it belonged to a woman who died in 2011. The 63-year-old woman is buried at the nearby Resurrection Cemetery on Sharrot Avenue, according to police.

So how did the woman’s hand end up in the reserve? It is believed that equipment used to excavate a nearby grave on Feb. 27 may have damaged the woman’s coffin and caused her hand to be separated from the rest of her body, police said.

Although this does not fully explain how the hand ended up in the reserve – perhaps dirt and earth were transferred there from an excavated grave or wild animals took possession of it – it excludes involvement in criminal liability.