Florida family makes gruesome discovery in attic

The Lopez family, from Tampa, Florida, believe the found items tie to their family history.

A family from Tampa, Florida completed a routine "Spring Cleaning," earlier this month. However, they found something that may give them clues to their family's history.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Mike Lopez found a box from his grandfather. It is a rectangular, long wooden container which contains an old wedding picture of their great grandparents Ernesto and Eve, ancient coins, and a map of the Hillsborough River, running downtown Tampa. What shocked the Lopez family was the discovery of a scary skeletal hand with a ring on its finger inside the box.

Lopez remembers back when they were still children, their grandfather told them stories about their great grandfather, Ernesto Lopez. According to the Tampa Bay Times, a legendary Spanish buccaneer named Jose Gaspar, who went by the nickname Gasparilla, looted the western shores of Florida. He also got involved in a violent mutiny in 1783 on a Spanish war ship. Gaspar went on to become gory and greedy with the other outlaws of the sea, settling in Florida.

According to Lopez, his grandfather told them that their great grandfather Ernesto, found the pirate treasure of Jose Gaspar. This box could be the "treasure" that their grandfather was referring to.

He brought the map, coins, and the hand to antique shops to ask about the objects. The items were described as "authentic and gruesome."

Rodney Kite Powell, a curator at the Tampa Bay History Center said that the map Lopez brought was evaluated as something from no later than the 1920s. The coins that were made of non-precious metals were in fact, from the 20th century, and not from the 18th century as reported. Kite-Powell noted the coins are too thin to be part of a pirate loot in the 1800s. He claims that older coins are thicker compared to the ones that were brought in by Lopez.

According to Kite-Powell, the hand, however, is not that of a human's but that of a mummified monkey's. He also adds that the hand had a funny smell.

Lopez, on the other hand, thinks an expert should see the hand and determine if it's from a human or a monkey. He also assumes that his grandfather could either be lying about the treasure hunt or his family's discovery is a real treasure. As of now, they still do not know how to confirm this.

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