Police: Human bones uncovered on University of Michigan campus buried over 50 years ago, “no indication of criminal activity”

ANN ARBOR (WWJ) Upon completion of the Medical Examiner's review, campus police are providing an update on the human bones unearthed during a construction project on the University of Michigan (UM) campus earlier this summer.

Police said construction workers found the bones on June 17th during a site excavation at S. Fifth and John Street. Campus police called in Michigan State Police (MSP) First District crime lab to assist. An anthropologist identified the bones as human.

According to Melissa Overton, Deputy Chief of Police and Public Information Officer for the UM Division of Public Safety and Security; the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted a “thorough forensic pathology examination” to figure out the age and origin of the bones.

Upon completion of the report; their analysis revealed the bones were buried over 50 years ago and are “consistent with an anatomical specimen commonly used in medical schools and museums for educational purposes,” Overton said.

“There is no indication the bones are connected to any recent criminal activity,” she said.

Investigators did not give any more information about how or why the bones were buried, or who they might have belonged to.