Sunken skeleton found to be plastic

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ARCHER KEY, Fla., April 23 (UPI) -- Authorities in the Florida Keys said a reported skeleton in a sunken captain's chair off Archer Key turned out to be plastic.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said they received a call around 1 p.m. April 16 from a man who said he spotted skeletal human remains about three feet underwater sitting in a sunken captain's chair about 200 yards offshore of Archer Key, west of Key West, keysnet.com reported Monday.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Deputy Becky Herrin said Detective Manny Cuervo, accompanied by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer, arrived at the skeleton's location to discover it was plastic.

"It looks pretty real," Cuervo said. "But if it was real, the skeleton would have fallen apart long before it had time to accumulate the algae that was on it."

Cuervo said the skeleton was likely dropped in the water as an intentional hoax. He said the item was removed from the water to prevent future confusion.