Human remains found near mountain could be from the 1700s, New Hampshire police say
Human remains found near Loon Mountain in New Hampshire could date back to the 1700’s, state police said.
The bone fragments were discovered Sept. 13 during a construction project in the area of the mountain, known as a popular skiing destination situated in the White Mountain National Forest, according to a police news release.
An investigation into the remains revealed they don’t “appear to be related to any open missing person case or recent criminal activity.”
“The fragments do not appear to have been recently transported to the site where they were located, but were, instead, found in existing soil,” the release said.
Officials say there is a 95.4% probability that the individual, whose identity is not yet known, died between 1774 and 1942, based on radiocarbon dating that was used to determine the date range for the bones.
More specifically, there is a 68.2% chance they died between 1718 and 1893.
Police believe that the bones belonged to “an adult female or small statured male.”
Radiocarbon dating is used to determine the age of bones and fossils by archaeologists, according to Nature.com.
There was “no apparent trauma” on the bone fragments.
Since the bones’ discovery in September, the family of a missing New Hampshire woman, Maura Murray, awaited the results of the investigation, WVNY reported.
Murray disappeared in 2004 and her car was discovered roughly 25 miles away from where the bones were found, according to her sister Julie Murray, the outlet reported.
Although the conclusion of the bone fragments’ age doesn’t answer what happened to Murray, it eliminates the possibility of them being hers.
A spokesperson for state police told McClatchy News there is no further information available at this time.
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Human remains found near mountain could be from the 1700s, New Hampshire police say."
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