TROOPERS INVESTIGATE SKELETAL REMAINS FOUND NEAR WESTMINSTER

(Westminster, MD) -- Maryland State Police homicide investigators are working with forensic pathologists and crime scene technicians as they collect evidence and attempt to identify skeletal remains found late yesterday behind an industrial area in Carroll County.

The identity of the remains is unknown. The age, sex, and race of the individual have not been confirmed. The remains have been transported to the Office of the State Medical Examiner for an autopsy.

Just before 5:00 p.m. yesterday, Maryland State Police were called to the 900-block of Baltimore Boulevard, Westminster, where troopers contacted an individual who had been walking through a wooded ravine to the rear of a manufacturing company. The individual called police after seeing what appeared to be a human skull in an area where debris had been dumped over the years.

This morning, State Police crime scene technicians and criminal investigators from the Westminster Barracks and the Homicide Unit initiated evidence collection at the scene. State Highway Administration personnel assisted investigators with clearing away a thick area of underbrush.

Beneath a ground cover of leaves, rock and construction debris, investigators recovered what appear to be human skeletal remains. A forensic investigator from the Office of the State Medical Examiner responded to the scene and assisted with the removal of the remains.

No potential identity has been immediately suggested through missing person reports. State Police are checking with surrounding jurisdictions and have issued an alert to law enforcement agencies throughout the region. Troopers have briefed officials from the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office on this investigation.

The investigation is continuing.