A retired California highway patrolman has unexpectedly come into possession of a collection of unreleased Michael Jackson songs, though they may never be made public.

Gregg Musgrove, now a stay-at-home dad, acquired the tapes after an associate bought a storage unit in Van Nuys, which contained the recordings, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter.

The storage unit previously belonged to music producer Bryan Loren, known for his work with artists like Whitney Houston and Sting, but Loren's whereabouts are currently unknown. Inside, Musgrove discovered cassette tapes and digital-audio tapes (DAT) containing 12 unreleased tracks Jackson recorded before his Grammy-nominated album Dangerous was released in 1991.

Unfortunately for Jackson's fans, Musgrove's attorney reached out to the Jackson estate, only to be informed that the estate holds the copyright to all of Jackson's music, and therefore, the tracks cannot be released publicly. The estate later clarified that it possesses the master recordings of the unearthed songs and that "nothing commercial or otherwise can be done with the DAT copies".

Some of the tracks had only been rumoured to exist, while others had been partially leaked. Musgrove mentioned "a couple aren't even out there in the world". The tapes also contain conversations between Jackson and Loren about the songs and their creative process. "To hear Michael Jackson actually talk and kind of joke back and forth, it was really, really cool," said Musgrove.

Among the discovered songs is "Don't Believe It," which seems to address rumours about Jackson related to sexual assault allegations. Another track, "Truth on Youth," features Jackson rapping alongside LL Cool J.

While the price Musgrove paid for the tapes is unclear, he plans to sell them through major auction houses, with buyers likely to be eager to acquire them. In 2012, Lady Gaga purchased 55 pieces of Jackson memorabilia, including one of his crystal-studded gloves, while a jacket from his Bad tour sold for $240,000.