thompsonFred

VALLEY CITY, N.D. (AP) – Valley City police say a bone found by a crew of workers that was originally thought to be human was actually from a raccoon.

Police Chief Fred Thompson said Wednesday that officers photographed the bone and sent the pictures to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Grand Forks, which initially determined it was a radius bone. But an in-person examination by a physician has determined that the bone is from a raccoon.

The state’s Historical Society and the Tribal Historic Preservation Office had been involved in the investigation because the bone was found near Native American burial grounds.

Thompson said the appropriate agencies have been notified and the case is now closed.

Previously…

Valley City (CSi) The Valley City Police Department reports,  a member of a KLJ survey crew observed what appeared to be a human bone on the ground near one of the trees planted in the area, of  the 300 block of Wintershow Road in Valley City.

The police department received the information on April 12th.

Police Chief Fred Thompson, says the survey crew was in the area when officers arrived and photographed the bone.

Photos were then sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Grand Forks.

On April 14th, representatives met Chief Thompson at the site, and determined that the bone should be taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office where it can be examined for further information.

The Medical Examiner’s Office said that the bone was a radius bone, one of the two bones located between the elbow and hand. Because the bone was found near a known Indian burial grounds, the State of North Dakota Historical Society and Tribal Historic Preservation Office were contacted and told of the find.

Deeper searches in the area found two additional small bone fragments, however it’s not known whether these are related to the first bone found or if they are even human.

The investigation continues.