Human Remains Found at State Line Lookout

Workers at the Lookout Inn, or State Line Café & bookshop, found a bag containing human remains, county prosecutors said.

PALISADES INTERSTATE PARK, N.J.—On Monday, July 1 at about 8 a.m., Stateline Lookout snack stand employees in Alpine found a plastic bag containing what appeared to be bones hanging on the door when they arrived for work, said Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.

The workers contacted the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department who, after further inspection, concluded that the bones were similar to that of a human. The police then contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cold Case Unit and Bergen County Medical Examiner’s Office to initiate an investigation, according to Musella.

The investigation is being conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, and the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department.

“The individual who left the bag of remains on the snack stand door was located and directed law enforcement officers to the location where the remains were found. Additional bones and some personal items were discovered at the site,” said Elizabeth R. Rebein, assistant prosecutor. 

“The remains have been identified as human bones, but a positive identification has not been determined at this time,” Rebein said. “The remains will be submitted to a lab for identification and will be compared to missing persons records.”

Anyone with information regarding the discovery is urged to contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cold Case Unit at (201) 226-5500.