The investigation into the human remains found this weekend in North Collins, believed to be 10 years old, has only just begun.
A team of seven forensic archaeology students from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania, assisted law enforcement at the scene with the goal of not only identifying the person, but help figure out some of the details of how he or she wound up there.
Dennis Dirkmatt is a forensic anthropologist professor at Mercyhurst said they'll clear vegetation from the scene first, then map out the area.
Once they begin to excavate, they start to get an idea of what kind of tools were used and even how many people may have been involved.
Dirkmatt said the school's been called on around 600 times in the 20 years he's taught there to help with cases like this.
"Most police aren't trained to deal with outdoor scenes. They’re very well trained and have experience dealing with indoor scenes, but outside, given there's really no boundaries to the scene and dealing with plants and animals and gravity and snow in our area,” he said, “they usually look to us to help in these types of cases."
As far as determining the age or gender of the person found in North Collins, Dirkmatt says that will require lab analysis.
The remains have been sent to the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office, where it will take several weeks to analyze them.