Three sets of human remains believed to be children ages 3 to 7 have been found, the Memphis Police Department said.
The police said Wednesday that investigators were trying to learn the identities of the children and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said at a press conference the bones could have been in the area for a while.
“Just based on the information that we’re getting from the medical examiner’s office and the anthropologist and the scientists that are working with us, we’re thinking a few years,” Chief Davis said.
The investigation started March 8 when someone reported finding a human skull.
Cadaver dogs indicated March 10 that more remains could be located in a nearby drainage pipe. Investigators found a second skull in the drainage system on April 1 and 14 more bones on April 2, the police said.
The area where the remains were found is near an elementary school, a church and a Head Start education center, according to WHBQ-TV.
“I feel sorry for those children. It’s really sad that it happened in the community right across from a school, [that] someone would dump children,” Tonya Richmond, whose child attends the Head Start center, told WHBQ-TV.
Memphis police said the Memphis Fire Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and federal partners are helping with the investigation, with about 170 personnel involved in search efforts Wednesday.
