FORT WAYNE — Human bones found on a property just west of downtown Fort Wayne earlier this week were “pioneer-era” and have been reburied, NewsChannel 15 has learned.

Around 2:30 p.m. Monday, officials were called to a property in the 1400 block of West Washington Boulevard, part of the Swinney Homestead near the Swinney Park tennis courts and the historic Bishop Noll mansion. There, a subcontractor that was burying a power line unearthed the bones.

A pathologist called out confirmed that the bones were human. An officer with the Fort Wayne Police Department told NewsChannel 15 at the scene that the case was not criminal in nature, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources took over the investigation.

On Wednesday, the Allen County Coroner’s Office said that due to the condition of the bones, investigators determined they had been buried for an extended period of time. Marty Benson with the DNR said the bones were “pioneer-era.”

Benson said the plot of land actually is home to other graves. He wasn’t sure if the remains were pioneers or Native Americans.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Historic Preservation was notified about the discovery, as required by Indiana Code. The coroner’s office said after a “discussion” between the utility subcontractor, the Office of Historical Preservation and the coroner’s office, the bones were reburied and the site was logged and marked as a burial site. It will now be protected according to state law.

The coroner’s office said the investigation was closed.

Source: WANE