Excavation crew finds human remains while working in Essex County, police say

Essex County OPP say investigators believe this is an isolated incident. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press – image credit) Human remains found by an excavation crew in Colchester this week have been there as long as 100 years, police say. Const.

Steven Duguay of Essex County OPP says the crew was working on a residential property Tuesday. Around 1:30 p.m., workers were moving soil when they unearthed human remains. Officers were called to the area and secured the scene.

Now the OPP is working with the Regional Coroner’s Office and a forensic anthropologist to learn more. Police say this is an isolated incident and don’t believe there’s a threat to public safety. Duguay says the remains had been there for a while — long enough that investigators are still determining the gender and age of the person.

They’re looking at whether there was a burial ground there, he says, or if the remains are linked to a decades-old cold case. “At this point, it’s still too early to tell,” he said. But determining the land’s history “will be the next step.”

“We’re going to keep every option open and see where it leads investigators.”