After more than six hours of investigating the human remains found in southwest Bloomington, forensic anthropologists reported Tuesday the scene did not indicate foul play.
A Duke Energy electrical employee found the skeletal remains on the ground on the 1600 block of S. Rogers Street at about 2:30 p.m. Monday, Bloomington Police Department Capt. Steve Kellams said.
The remains, which mostly consist of bones, were not concealed, Kellams said. The electrical worker found them on private property while working on lines in the area.
Little is currently known about the race, gender or age of the person or the cause of death.
But, "there's no indication that this would be Lauren Spierer," Kellams said in reference to the IU student who's been missing since 2011.
Detectives are continuing to investigate any possible connections to other missing person’s reports in the area, according to a press release.
Monroe County Coroner Nicole Meyer requested the assistance of forensic anthropologists from the University of Indianapolis to investigate the remains.
The team of anthropologists began excavating at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and left the area at 3 p.m., Kellams said. Their investigation involved clearing out the site, logging information and maintaining all items found as evidence.
It could take many months for the forensic anthropologists to confirm the identity of the person, Kellams said. Sooner rather than later, they should be able to provide authorities with some information, such as skull size and torso length, that could help identify the gender.
Police could not yet identify how long the remains had been in the location, Kellams said.
"That will be a part of the report we get from the anthropologists," Kellams said.
Samantha Schmidt
