CARRINGTON, N.D. — A construction crew was working on a project in the south part of Carrington Tuesday, July 16, only to discover something unusual in the hole they were digging. Members of the crew said it could be human remains.

Crews were laying down the groundwork for a new sewer line when they noticed something disturbing.

"Bones started coming up in the digger, so a couple more scoops there and a head rolled off the side of the hill and landed in the middle of the ditch," said Robert Paulson, one of the workers at the site.

This find prompted Paulson to call the police, who wasted no time in bringing in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation to get a closer look. Paulson said he snapped pictures of the bones, but the BCI has asked him not to share them.

The find quickly piqued the curiosity of those who live right next to the site.

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"I'm a history instructor so it kind of interests me as to maybe how long those bones obviously have been there and possibly any connection to history down the road," said Rick Christianson, one of the neighbors near the construction.

Christianson said even though he couldn't get a closer look at the scene, he's still wondering how the bones might have gotten there in the first place.

"Was somebody murdered or whatever and placed in there?" he asked. "Is it a couple hundred years old?"

Most of the neighbors say the find left them a little unsettled, and that it also brings unwanted excitement to their otherwise quiet neighborhood.

"We've been here six years, so it's kind of interesting when something like that happens next door," Christianson said.

The Carrington Police Department said in a statement late Tuesday that the remains appear to be from an old grave and no foul play is suspected. The remains will be sent to Grand Forks for analysis to determine their age and origin.