COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia police say they're investigating after human remains were found in a neighborhood off South Beltline Boulevard.
Officers say the remains were discovered in a heavily wooded area near Mikell Lane, which is just off South Beltline.
According to officers, around 4:45 p.m. Monday some people were walking in an area behind a home and found the skeletal remains. The area where the remains were found was near the bed of the Gills Creek.
The coroner's office and police responded to the scene and worked Monday evening and Tuesday morning to examine the area.
It's not clear at this point how long the remains, which are believed to be of a man, had been there. They also do not have any determination on the race of the person.
“We did have evidence that could be a homeless encampment, some clothes, some bookbags, so we’re going to go through that information as well in hopes of determining if that were the case," said Deputy Columbia Police Chief Melron Kelly. "But preliminary information tells us that these remains have been out here for some time, we’re just trying to determine what that time span looks like.”
Kelly said investigators would also work with other law enforcement agencies to see if there are any missing persons that match the remains that they found.
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