Shore discovery not a human finger

It looked like a severed, decaying human finger. With a French tip fingernail.

At least that's what authorities suspected after the object was found on the deck of a home in Brielle, a town in southern Monmouth County.

Nope. It's not flesh at all, said state forensic anthropologist Donna Fontana, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

The discovery was made July 30 at a home on Osprey Point Drive.

The fake finger looked genuine enough to make local and state authorities suspect it might be real, according to the state police. But X-rays showed no bones or animal tissues.

The item was simply to be thrown away, state police said.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.