Man! I wish this story happened just little bit closer to Halloween! Police were called to a California beach where lifeguards discovered what appeared to be a human skull — but it turned out to be something a bit more mundane, if still creepy. The Long Beach Police Department said lifeguards contacted authorities early Monday after finding what they called a human skull with part of its face missing, washed up in the sand. Rumors quickly spread on social media about the so-called “grisly” discovery, and cops were close to launching a homicide investigation — when medical examiners deduced the skull was not from a human — or even from an animal. It was determined to be a plastic prop skull.

Listen for the “Wacky But True” headline of the day weekday afternoons around 3:50 with Sam Wilson on The Coyote!