What was beginning to sound more than a little like an urban myth was put to rest Monday when police found a set of skeletal remains in a rugged area behind Waikele Elementary School.

"We had gotten a few anonymous calls over the past several years claiming that someone had gotten zapped while stealing copper (electrical) wire," said Lt. Bill Kato, who heads the Honolulu Police Department's homicide detail.

"All we ever got was just a very general description of where to look for the body — somewhere in the gulch in Waipahu that used to be the ammunition storage area. And each time someone would agree to meet a detective and take him to where the bones were, the detective would go out to Waipahu and the caller wouldn't show up."

Until Monday.

Police got yet another call about the skeletal remains, and the caller once again agreed to take a detective to where the bones were. This time the tipster showed up to meet with a detective and lead him to the remains.

"They appear to have been there for quite a while, but they're not ancient," Kato said.

It's not uncommon for police on O'ahu to get a report of human remains being discovered, but much of the time the remains turn out to be from an ancient burial site that has been disturbed.

Police who went to the site where the remains were found within an area formerly known as the Lualualei Naval Magazine Waikele Branch said the bones appeared to be covered by the remnants of fairly modern clothing.

Investigators from the city medical examiner's office and the military's Central Identification Lab Hawai'i were called to help identify the person whose remains were found.

"The odd thing is that none of the missing-person cases seem to match up with anything we know about this case," Kato said.

In April 1996, a 30-year-old man was electrocuted while stealing copper conductors from Hawaiian Electric Co.'s Waipahu substation.

Jose Dizon, a HECO spokesman, said the theft of the utility company's aluminum or copper wire was an issue in the early- to mid-1990s.

"It has generally not been a problem in more recent years," Dizon said. "We would hope that people who might be inclined to do this have gotten smarter over the years. Not only does it pose a mortal danger to oneself, it can be a danger to others as well in the form of equipment failures or service interruptions."

Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.