Athens police were sifting through their records of missing people yesterday in the hope of identifying a headless human skeleton found on a remote part of the western slopes of Mount Hymettus on Wednesday.

The human remains were discovered by police officers patrolling a road above the southern Athens suburb of Argyroupolis, which climbs up the side of the hill. The patrol leader noticed a white handkerchief sticking out of a clump of bushes near the road and got out of the car to investigate.

He found scattered human bones, and a more meticulous search of the area revealed clothes and a pair of running shoes believed to have belonged to the deceased.

The skull was missing, but officers believe a cranium located last year by a hiker in the same area may have belonged to the skeleton. A coroner’s report on the bones was not available by late yesterday.