Longboat police determine suspicious object washed ashore not human leg bone

Monday, Feb. 2

Sleeping separately

10:23 p.m., Marbury Lane

Family disturbance: An argument over dinner led to a couple sleeping separately that night, but in between those two events, the police were called. An officer responded to a Longboat Key home and was told about an argument between the married couple that started with a dispute with the bartender. The wife told police that her husband seemed to side with the bartender during the disagreement, and that she then left the restaurant and told her husband to call her when he was done. That car ride home reportedly was quite argumentative, but when the two arrived home, the woman no longer wanted to discuss the matter, closing the bedroom door and threatening to call 911 if he kept attempting to prolong the argument. Police did not see any signs of the altercation becoming physical. After discussion among the three, it was decided that the married couple would sleep separately that night, and the officer closed the case.

Wednesday, Feb. 4

Now that’s what I call a human tibia

8:16 p.m., Sands Point Road

Suspicious incident: Police responded to a beach on the south end of Longboat Key after a caller alerted dispatch that he found what he thought was a human tibia washed ashore. The caller and his wife were searching for seashells when they found a large bone with a “distinctive smell.” The man explained to responding police that he was previously an ER nurse and he believed the object was a portion of a human tibia. The officer contacted the medical examiner’s office and sent multiple pictures of the bone. The medical examiner’s office advised that the bone was non-human. The officer closed the case upon that realization, and the couple kept a souvenir from their trip to Longboat Key.

On the ledge

9:04 p.m., New Pass Bridge

Welfare check: Both Longboat and Sarasota police jointly responded to New Pass Bridge recently after dispatch received a call for a possible suicidal subject on the railing of the bridge. When police responded, they spoke to a man who said he had indeed been leaning over the edge of the bridge, but only to untangle his fishing line. The fisherman told police he did not have any thoughts about harming himself. Police noted in the report that the concerned caller had good intentions but that the subject was in good health, and the case was closed.

Thursday, Feb. 5

Hanky panky in the Hyundai

11:40 p.m., 3000 block Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious vehicle: A Longboat police officer was on routine patrol when he stumbled upon a vehicle behind a closed business late at night. The officer approached the Hyundai, shining his vehicle’s spot light as he approached. Now illuminated, the officer saw what he described as “two subjects bouncing around in the back seat.” The blast of light startled the two men, who were asked what their intentions were parking in the rear of a closed business. The two explained that they desperately wanted private time together. The officer explained this was not the time nor the place, the couple apologized and left, and police closed the case.