Mysterious Human Remains Found During Cleaning of Home in Maine

Police have launched an investigation after the skeletal remains of a human were found at a house in Cumberland County in southern Maine. The remains were discovered by a family member who was cleaning out the home of their father who died earlier this year, according to Maine State Police.

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Department received a 911 call around 3:26 pm on May 8 from the unnamed individual, who found the remains in an outbuilding of the home at 196 Poland Springs Road in Casco, around 30 miles outside downtown Portland, according to the statement.

The father who died was identified to be Douglas Scott, who was 82 years old, Maine State Police said on Monday.

Speaking to Newsweek on Tuesday, a public information officer for the Maine Department of Public Safety said: "There are no new developments to report on the investigation. The post-mortem by the medical examiners officer and investigation itself will most likely take several weeks."

The Maine State Police Evidence Response team crime scene technicians have been at the scene of the discovery.

A post-mortem examination on the remains by Maine's Office of Chief Medical Examiner began Sunday. Further testing and examination is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

State police detectives, deputies and troopers were investigating the incident over the weekend, interviewing witnesses and other persons of interest.

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Department and the Maine State Police Troop B helped secure the scene and identify witnesses.

Maine State Police "do not believe that there is any threat to the public and will share more information as it becomes available," the Monday statement said.

The investigation continues as authorities work to "identify the remains and the circumstances surrounding that discovery," the statement advised.

Other discoveries of human remains

Last week, police launched an investigation after a severed human foot was found in the middle of a California freeway.

The foot was found on the morning of May 3 in the center median of 210 Freeway in San Bernardino, by an employee of the California Department of Transportation.

Also in California, last month a hiker found the skeletal remains of a human near a hiking trail above Elmwood Avenue in Burbank.

In Georgia, an investigation was launched after a human skull was discovered in Columbus at the end of February. The skeletal remains were found in the 6000 block of Veterans Parkway.

Remains of a human skull were also discovered in Texas by a passer-by walking through a park located around 25 miles northwest of Houston. Officers from Harris County were called to the scene of a wooded area in the 12900 block of North Eldridge Parkway on February 21.