Teens detail discovery of body: 'We went deeper into the cave and found the rest'

An item of clothing found on a hike kickstarted a hunt that would lead three teens to the biggest discovery of their lives.

PLEASANT VIEW, Tenn. (WKRN) – A thickly wooded area in Cheatam County, Tennessee, is a playground for three 13-year-old friends who love to explore.

"We saw a trail, and we thought, 'You know, it'd be pretty cool to go down the trail,'" explained the teen boys, who didn't want their identities revealed.

Their Sunday afternoon hike on March 6 started as so many had in the past until an item of clothing kickstarted a hunt that would lead them to the biggest discovery of their lives.

"I found just two random shoes," said one of the teens. "I put both the shoes together and then one of our other friends, he saw the femur bone," the teen explained.

Instead of running, they pushed farther into the woods, leading to their next discovery. "It was just some random cave we found," he said.

Inside, with only the glow of a cell phone light, another clue. "In the cave, we found torn clothes, a prison release card, and a credit card," the teen explained.

It was at that point the friends decided it was time to make some calls. The first was to the police. "They said this is the strangest call we've had in a while and told us to take them there," one of the boys said.

The second call was to their parents.

"My son calls me and says, 'Hey Mom, we found a femur bone in the woods.' And I said, 'No, you did not. No, you didn't!' And he's like, 'Yes, we really did. We called the cops and they're going to put crime scene tape up,'" the mother explained. "They were beside themselves. They were a little bit shook up, you know? They may have solved some missing person thing. I hope that they've helped in some way."

One of the teens described going back to the cave with the police. "We went deeper into the cave and found the rest of the body and – the head and torso were in the cave, just laying up against the wall. You couldn't make out any clothes. It was too dark in the cave."

When the mother was asked if she would allow her son to continue to explore the woods, she said with a laugh, "Yeah, hopefully, this wouldn't happen twice. Right?"

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed the body was that of an adult male. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the identity of this individual.