Fake Skeleton in Sunken Boat Freaks Out Fisherman, Doesn't Fool Police

courtesy Monroe County Sheriff's Office

Somewhere in Key West, a diver with a seriously sick sense of humor is laughing his ass off right now. A sponge fisherman diving near the Conch Republic on Monday presumably spit out his snorkel when he spotted a nearly intact human skeleton eerily strapped to the captain's chair of a sunken boat. The fisherman called the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, which sent a diver down to the stricken vessel.

The cop surfaced with the gruesome remains and the seaweed-stained chair, pulled it onto the deck, and quickly realized the "remains" were plastic.

Damned if that's not a convincing fake skeleton, though. Take a look and tell us you wouldn't have peed your wetsuit if you found this underwater:

courtesy Monroe County Sheriff's Office

"It looks pretty real," Det. Manny Cuervo says on the sheriff's official blog, "but if it was real, the skeleton would have fallen apart long before it had time to accumulate all the algae that was on it."

Whoever hid the fake bones at the bottom of the sea was committed to his practical joke. The sunken ship wasn't exactly close to land; the fisherman found the faux skeleton in about three feet of water some 200 yards from Archer Key, which is miles to the west of Key West.

How long has the skeleton planter been sitting at home, waiting for this headline to pop up on his Google Alerts so he can cackle with satisfaction?

Well played, sadistic diver.

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