The scene is more “Weekend at Bernie’s” and less Ouija board seance, but two fake skeletons relaxing in armchairs on the bed of the Colorado River initially had Arizona authorities diving to find human remains.

A snorkeler first spotted the skeletons near a boat launch in Cienaga Springs and alerted authorities of possible human remains around 10:00 a.m. on Monday. La Paz County Sheriff deputies and the Buckskin Fire Department responded to the call and sent a diver down with a video camera to inspect the scene.

“When firefighter Foerstner located the alleged remains, he found it to be an underwater tea party with two fake skeletons sitting in lawn chairs,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.

The skeletons are wearing sunglasses, and one is holding a sign that includes the words “Bernie” and “dream in the river,” although the entire sign is not legible. The sign also has the date of Aug. 16, 2014, which is possibly when the skeletons were placed there.

“I don’t think they were trying to set up anything to scare anyone. I think they were gonna try to be funny,” Lt. Curtis Bagby said.

The sign could be a reference to the movie “Weekend at Bernie’s,” in which the two main characters lug around their dead boss for days, losing and recovering his body several times, Bagby said. At one point in the film, Bernie’s corpse falls off a boat and into water.

The sheriff’s office won’t launch an investigation into who left the skeletons there, Bagby said.

“Things happen. We go all the time to false alarms. That’s just a first-responder’s life. We’re trying not to be overly concerned about it, not make too big a deal out of it,” Bagby said.

Instead, the sheriff’s office wants to have a little fun with the situation. Bagby said divers will recover the skeletons sometime this week and that he is considering placing them outside the sheriff’s office as a joke.

“We like to show some things that are fun, some levity too. But in the meantime, don’t think it’s OK to go put something there,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.