"Quite a mystery:" Possible human remains found on construction site in Wauwatosa
WAUWATOSA -- A boneyard mystery at a construction site in Wauwatosa. Police believe crews uncovered what they believe may be human remains.
Possible human remains found on lot in Wauwatosa
Crews are building a house from the ground up near Underwood and Milwaukee Avenues. A hole was already dug and the concrete workers were there on Friday, January 20th, to start pouring. That came to a halt when someone found what looks an awful lot like a skull.
Possible human remains found on lot in Wauwatosa
As the Wauwatosa police and Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) took bags of evidence from the scene, Christopher Johnson got one ordinary text, followed by a rather unusual message.
"First, it was a text from my wife saying, 'could you pick up our son?' The next was, 'by the way, there's a bunch of forensic cops at the house next door looking around,'" said Johnson.
A new house is going up after the old place had sat vacant for years before being demolished. Neighbors say the last guy there had a hoarding problem.
Possible human remains found on lot in Wauwatosa
"It was condemned by the health department and then completely gutted because it was full of a lot of garbage and some neighbors had seen some rats," Johnson said.
FOX6 has obtained multiple photos from the scene, including some that appear to be part of a skull. Wauwatosa police say they do believe the remains include part of a human skull.
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"It's just pretty surreal. I'll have to, the jury's out, so to speak -- and so currently I don't have any reaction emotionally to it but it will definitely be something to think about once that information would come to bear," said Johnson.
Possible human remains found on lot in Wauwatosa
The next step will be confirming they are human remains and, if they are, the story behind them.
"Quite a mystery," said Johnson.
Police say the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office will examine the bones this weekend. Authorities say it's too soon to say whether they're investigating a crime.