Horror as human head washes up on Florida beach

A beach worker spotted the human remains floating along the shoreline

Miami-Dade Police examine the remains underneath a blue tarp on the beach (NBC News)

A human head has been found washed up on a south Florida beach, sparking a mystery as to who it belongs to and what may have happened to them.

A beach worker was raking the sand near Crandon Boulevard in Key Biscayne on Tuesday morning when they spotted something floating in the water along the shoreline and made the grim discovery, reported NBC South Florida.

Aerial helicopter footage captured investigators covering the remains in a blue tarp as they examined the remains.

Miami-Dade Police Detective Andre Martin told NBC that the head appears to belong to a man.

But, it is currently unclear if he was the victim of a crime or if a marine animal or boating accident may have led to a decapitation, he added.

“We have not been able to determine exactly how the head became separated from the body, but there are a couple [of] working theories,” he said.

The medical examiner’s office is now working to identity the remains and determine possible cause of death.

Miami-Dade Police at the scene of the grisly discovery (NBC News)

A local woman, who declined to give her name, told Local10 that she was out on her usual beach walk when she came across the law enforcement presence.

“[The officer] signaled with his finger that I needed to turn around immediately. I understood the assignment,” she said.

The woman said she was shocked by the “quite disturbing” discovery, saying that the neighborhood was typically safe and that she would often let her children play on the sand.

No other human remains have been found in the area.

The Independent has contacted Miami-Dade Police for further information.