An Idaho sheriff says skeletal remains of a child found protruding from a grave being used as a badger den could have been buried for as long as two decades.

Elmore County Sheriff Mike Hollinshead tells the Idaho Statesman (http://bit.ly/2pBNA3l) in a story Tuesday that the child appears to have been between the ages of 1 and 5.

The remains were found Saturday in southwest Idaho north of Mountain Home by workers with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Hollinshead says archaeologists determined the remains aren't from Oregon Trail emigrants or part of a Native American burial ground.

He says a forensic examination of the remains is planned to try to determine the child's sex and how long the remains have been buried.

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Information from: Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com