Identified! Mn - Otter Tail Co, Skeletal Remains W/yoga Pants, Sweatshirt, May 2018 - Lynda Oelrich-meyer

NEW YORK MILLS — Possible human remains were found in New York Mills across from the largest employer in the community, Lund Boats Company.


The Otter Tail County Sheriff's office says someone walking in the woods around 3:30 p.m. Sunday saw what appeared to be bones.

The remains were found in a heavily wooded area that sits between the railroad tracks and the busiest street in the community of 1,200, E Centennial Drive. Vehicles line the street everyday just 30 yards from the scene of the remains.

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James Gritz, chief of police in New York Mills, Minn., says around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, police received a call from a visitor, who was walking through woods between Centennial 84 Drive and nearby train tracks—who uncovered something unexpected.

"It appears to be human remains,” Gritz said, “but obviously without the medical examiner's blessing, I can't 100 percent say that they are."
Gritz says they appear to be just the bones.

"There isn't any flesh or anything like that, that we can see," he said.

Gritz says while they've probably been there for some time, he doesn't believe the remains are nearly as old as the date of the town's last reported missing person—in the late 80s.
"There was some...yoga pants and a light sweatshirt...Based off the type of clothing, it doesn't appear that it's from 20 years ago,” he said.

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“I’ve been here since 2014 and we’ve never had anything like this happen since I’ve been here,” says chief James Gritz.

He says the belongings look like a relatively recent style: yoga pants, a light sweatshirt, and pink shoes, on what Gritz describes as skeletal remains lying on top of the ground.

The BCA spent more than six hours processing the scene.

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