U of I department loses its head -- and wants it back

URBANA -- University of Illinois officials will take a closer look at this year's Halloween displays for a donated human skull that is missing from the anthropology department.

Students examined the skull in an undergraduate class on human osteology, or the study of bones, said Steven Leigh, head of the anthropology department.

"It's very difficult to get such materials," Leigh said. "If people insist on stealing them, we will run out."

The skull has been gone for about a month and was probably taken from a first-floor classroom at Davenport Hall, Leigh said. The department waited to report the loss to campus police until this week to make sure it was not being used in another class or for research.

The theft was uncommon, said Leigh and University of Illinois police Lt. Roy Acree.

"I don't know what you would do with a human skull other than treat it as a Halloween decoration," Acree said. "It was sitting there and somebody probably thought it would be cool to have in a dorm room or apartment and took it."

The skull is not marked but is "uniquely identifiable" if turned in to police, Leigh said.

"The police will recognize it as anatomical material instantly," he said.