This is just freaky as all get out...

[K Frame]

My question is... after 30 years, why didn't the skeleton simply fall apart? All of the connective tissue should have been gone after being exposed to birds and the elements for that long.


BERLIN (Reuters) – The skeleton of a German retiree who tied himself to the top of a tree and shot himself to death nearly 30 years ago has been found by a hiker.

German police in the southern town of Landshut said on Monday the 69-year-old man disappeared in 1980 and had been classified as missing.

An 18-year-old hiker discovered a bone in the forest last week and brought it to police. They searched the area and spotted the skeleton hanging about 11 meters up, near the top of the spruce tree.

"After searching the area we found the skeleton up in the tree with the pistol hanging on a rope next to it," police spokesman Leonard Mayer said. Police were able to identify the man through DNA testing and an artificial hip.

[griz]

Maybe they found enough of him to call it a skeleton?

[makattak]

I would suppose if he tied himself well enough, it wouldn't fall for some time.

After all, the hiker found a bone. Perhaps most of him was still in the tree, but the extremeties not tied down as well didn't stay there?

<I can't believe I just wasted 2 minutes of my life considering that.>

[LadySmith]

Perhaps vines entwined themselves around the remains enough to hold some of it intact?

[AJ Dual]

Clothing might have been holding it together as well, and protecting some of the connective tissue. Also if the action of the sun and wind drying things out was faster than animals/moisture/rot/insects at consuming them, he may have mummified somewhat.

[Gewehr98]

Tree jerky!

Yum!   

[Nick1911]

[K Frame]

I considered the mummification, but the problem with that is that Germany is considerably wet during numerous times of the year, so I would expect decomp to finally get the connective tissues.