New information released after human remains found on Bear Lake shore

BEAR LAKE COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) - UPDATE 9:30 a.m. New information has been released on the remains found along the east shore of Bear Lake.

Bear Lake County Sheriff Heslington has confirmed the remains are human.

In a press conference Friday morning, Heslington confirmed the remains were what appears to be a human mandible or jaw bone.

Two young men found the bones when digging in the sand on Thursday

Heslington says the remains were buried around two feet deep.

He adds the remains were skeletal, and there was no indication of any recent activity, so at this time, he doesn’t see any public threat.

"I don't have a whole lot of information about who this might be, where the remains age, any of those kinds of things. I can tell you that researching the files from the Bear Lake County Sheriff's Office, we do not have any cold cases involving unrecovered remains or unrecovered subjects. We have not had cases where someone has gone missing on the lake, whether in a boating or swimming accident or anything like that, that have not been recovered. I've also coordinated with Sheriff Stacey on the Utah side, and they do not have any outstanding cases of that nature either.”

The Bear Lake Sheriffs Office has reached out to Idaho State University’s Anthropology Department, and they have assembled a team at the site to identify the body and potentially find any other remains on the property.

The sheriff's office has isolated the area to protect any potential evidence.

ORIGINAL: The Bear Lake County Sheriff's Office received a call Thursday around 11:42 a.m. from some people who were recreating on the shore of Bear Lake.

The callers had been digging in the sand and uncovered what they believe to be human bones.

An initial investigation by sheriff deputies indicated the bones found were indeed human.

At this time, the sheriff's office is coordinating with the Idaho State University Anthropology Department to examine the site and recover any other remains.

The Bear Lake County Sheriff's Office does not currently have any cold cases or unrecovered individuals who may be linked to these remains.