A thinning crew operating in a heavily wooded area about four miles north of Raymond discovered skeletal human remains Tuesday.

According to Pacific County Sheriff’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Pat Matlock, the thinning crew reported the discovery in the area of Smith Creek. “We secured the scene and did a full crime scene investigation,” he said. “As a matter of protocol treated the site as a crime scene even though we didn’t know what exactly we had.”

Investigators worked at the scene until around noon Wednesday, collecting any evidence they could find. The investigation is ongoing. As of Friday morning an autopsy had not yet been performed and the condition of the remains did not offer any obvious explanation as to the time and manner of death.

“What we plan to do is try to gain the identity of the remains through dental records or DNA,” said Matlock.