CALUMET COUNTY (NBC 26) — According to the Calumet County Sheriff, two hikers found human remains at the upper portion of High Cliff State Park on Tuesday night.
"We just came here just to go for a hike and we pulled up there and saw the police tape and everything crossed off," park visitor Hannah Heisdorf said.
Sheriff Mark Wiegert reports the remains have been there at least several months.
"It's so early in the investigation, we don't know other than the ones that have been uncovered at this point are potentially pretty old," Wiegert said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference.
Authorities say it'll take at least a day to process the investigation.
"We don't know how they got there," Wiegert said. "We're not sure if there's some type of a burial ground in the area."
According to the Department of Natural Resources, there are ceremonial burial grounds throughout the park.
BREAKING: Two hikers found human remains at High Cliff State Park, per the Calumet Co. Sheriff. It’ll take at least a day to process the investigation, but investigators say the remains have been there at least several months. @NBC26 pic.twitter.com/f5c2ruVGIu
— Ben Bokun (@ben_bokun) September 29, 2021
Weigert says the remains were found in an area where people hike regularly.
"If there was something there prior that was obviously laying on top, it should've been discovered prior to this," he said. "So we're just not sure."
Police say there is no connection between this case and the body found on the UW-Green Bay campus on Tuesday.
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When asked about any open missing person investigations in the area, the Sheriff said:
"Nobody that I'm aware of in Calumet County," Weigert said. "Obviously, there are some in surrounding counties that could always come to light here. But at this point, it's very early to make any determination if there's any relation to any of those."
The case has been turned over to the Calumet Co. Sheriff's office in addition to the state crime laboratory and a UW-Oshkosh anthropologist.
While the investigation continues, some visitors we spoke with are still in shock at the discovery.
"[It's] just like heartbreaking to see what came out of that," Heisdorf said. "Very crazy. Not what we were expecting today when we came to High Cliff."
