The recent discovery of human remains in Watson Lake is, at this point, “a bit of a mystery.”

That’s what RCMP Staff Sgt. Brad Kaeding, the “M” Division district advisory NCO, said early this afternoon during a press conference outside the Whitehorse detachment.

What RCMP do know, Kaeding said during the address, which lasted five minutes, is that around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Watson Lake RCMP received a report of partial remains in an industrial area.

Kaeding said he could not speak to how the remains were discovered, how long they had been there, or the gender of the individual.

“At this point, efforts are being made to try to determine who the person is and of course cause of death,” he said.

He said RCMP are checking into missing persons cases regionally and locally to assist with determining identity.

Additional resources include a police service dog, assistance from additional detachments, search and rescue, and the major crimes unit.

“At this point, we don’t know that it is a major crime. However, with the uncertainties that we do have, we are endeavouring to find out as much as we can at this point,” he said.

The involvement of major crimes investigators is one of the reasons there are certain things RCMP can’t confirm, Kaeding said.

If it does end up being a major crime, police want to ensure that any information coming into them isn’t information that was put out to the public.

The Yukon’s chief coroner, Kirsten MacDonald, agreed there’s a lot of work to do, including a forensic autopsy scheduled for Wednesday.

Anyone with information is asked to call Watson Lake RCMP at 867‐536‐5555.