The human hand discovered by a dog walker on Staten Island belonged to a deceased woman buried in a nearby cemetery.

A severed hand found by a Staten Island dog walker belonged to a woman buried in a nearby cemetery more than a decade ago, police said.

The 42-year-old man and his dog found the hand, which contained only a thumb and index finger, Thursday in the woods near Amboy Rd. and Cunningham Rd. in the North Mount Loretto State Forest area of ​​Charleston, police said. and a police source.

Fingerprints helped investigators determine that the hand belonged to a 63-year-old woman buried in 2011 at Resurrection Cemetery, a mile away.

The ground next to the woman’s grave was excavated on February 27 for a new burial, police said. Authorities believe the excavation team damaged her coffin and somehow severed her right hand in the process, police said.

It was unclear how the woman’s hand traveled about a mile to where it was discovered, police said.