The Associated Press
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A contractor working on an underground steam line dug up human bones on the University of North Dakota campus, the police chief says.
Police Chief Duane Czapiewski said the remains were found near the yard of the UND president’s house and the Chester Fritz Auditorium.
The area has been sealed off while police, crime bureau agents and university anthropologists investigate the site.
“This type of excavation is an extremely time-consuming process,” Czapiewski said. “It’s very slow and very deliberate, so we may not know for some time as to exactly what is there.”
Czapiewski said officials do not know how long the bones were there. He said the excavation work that led to the discovery is for the future site of a new UND alumni center.
Greg Weisenstein, UND’s provost, said the human remains were located late Wednesday afternoon. Some UND students visited the scene to try to discern what was going on.
“It’s really scary,” said Scott Eul, 19, a freshman. “If it is a dead person, I hope it’s from a long time ago. I hope it didn’t happen recently,” he said.
“The workers that were doing the construction found something, and at that point, they contacted the university police department,” Highway Patrol Sgt. Dolf Oldenburg said.
UND police then called the Highway Patrol and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Oldenburg said.
Peter Johnson, a UND spokesman, said digging in the area had been going on for some time as part of the school’s plan to build a new house for its president.