Divers completing marine conservation work near the marina in Langley last week discovered something spooky.

According to Stan Reeves, executive director for the Port of South Whidbey, divers performing work on behalf of the Reef Environmental Education Foundation on Sept. 27 photographed what appeared to be a human femur bone approximately 80 feet underwater, about 200 feet away from the breakwater float at the South Whidbey Harbor.

The civilian scientists alerted the Langley Police Department to the presence of the bone, Reeves said. The divers retrieved the bone on Sept. 28.

Langley Mayor Scott Chaplin said the Island County Coroner’s Office will determine the age of the bone and if it belonged to an indigenous person.

Langley Police Chief Tavier Wasser said it is difficult to estimate how long it will take to get the bone identified, since the coroner is currently also assessing the recovered bodies from the Mutiny Bay seaplane crash.

Wasser said the bone was discovered to be in “normal” condition. There is currently not enough information to estimate how long it has been in the Salish Sea.

He added that people in Langley have found objects from time to time that have migrated from other areas of the island, such as Deception Pass and Double Bluff beach.

“The way the tides work around Whidbey Island are absolutely crazy,” he said.

Ancient human remains have been found at locations all over Whidbey Island in the past, often in areas near the water.