Remains from multiple humans discovered last week during an improvement project at a lakeside home in east-central Minnesota are most likely from a historical burial site, authorities said Monday.
A crew from Hamline University has been surveying the site — along the eastern shore of Pokegama Lake in the 15000 block of Sunset Trail — and conducting an anthropological dig since Friday, according to the Pine County Sheriff's Office.
"At this time, it is unknown where the remains [unearthed Oct. 13] will be relocated," a statement from the Sheriff's Office read, "but all parties agree that reinterment will follow cultural guidelines."
Authorities have yet to disclose which culture was being referenced.
"We can't be sure if they are Native [American] or if they are Caucasian," said Sheriff Robin Cole. "The tests showed that there was mixed race" among the remains.
Cole said the site was home to a Protestant mission dating to the 1840s, but it left amid fighting among American Indians.
"There is more than one" person being attributed to the remains, the sheriff said, noting that the initial finding last week turned up three leg bones.
The Sheriff's Office said it came to the determination "that the human remains uncovered … are most likely connected to a historical burial site" with the assistance of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the medical examiner and Hamline University.
The homeowner was having the basement torn out, and the discovery of the bones occurred during the process of lifting the house and taking down the existing basement walls, said Sheriff's Chief Deputy Rick Giese.
Giese said the home just east of Pine City was built in the 1950s.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
