Man Walking Dog Finds Human Remains In Park

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – With a GoPro camera positioned on the floor, 110 pounds of cuteness and curiosity gave it two good sniffs and a whack with a mighty paw.

"Super curious," said Jason Sheats of his loving dog Murray, the shepherd mix that couldn't seem to figure out if the camera was a toy, food, or neither. Sheats said the curiosity often is on full display when he takes Murray for walks. "We go about 10 feet every five minutes because he has to stop and smell everything he sees," he said.

Sunday morning was no different. The two went for a walk in Solomon Park near their south Minneapolis home. They ventured into a wooded area and for the second day in a row Sheats said Murray became fixated on a certain spot.

"Went to check what it was and discovered what looked like a hand, and a arm, and possibly a pelvis partially buried," said Sheats. "I had to take a second look make sure it wasn't like a Halloween decoration or something like that because that kind of looked like that's what it was."

He called 911. Soon much of the park was blocked off as Minneapolis Police homicide detectives and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Crime Scene Team started their investigation.

Investigators said the remains were partially buried and looked like someone tried to cover them.

"It was definitely in a pile of bigger sticks and logs," Sheats said of what he saw on the body.

Sunday evening, police said they weren't able to identify an age or gender of the remains found. In their news release, police described the remains as a body and also used the word "victim."

Sheats feels his neighborhood near the park is safe, but it concerns him that remains were found in the woods right next to a trail where walkers and cyclists were passing by.

At the very least he's thankful his dog Murray helped police sniff out a case they might not have found on their own.

"In the end I would hope it would bring some closure to a family or help the police with an investigation, missing person or something like that," he said.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office will identify the body, however investigators have no time-table on when that might occur. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the MPD Tip Line at 612-692-TIPS (8477) or text a tip to 847411.