Box of human remains stolen from archeologist’s vehicle in Hamilton

Hamilton police are searching for human remains that were stolen from a vehicle in the city’s Westdale community.

Police say two sets of lower leg bones, believed to be from the 1800s, were found at a construction site for a church in North York.

The bones were placed inside a white cardboard banker’s box labeled with the church’s name and file numbers ‘ST4’, ‘F297’, and ‘F296’. They were given to an archeologist to be transferred to a secured facility but were stolen from a vehicle.

“At the end of the workday, the human remains were transported in the rear of a vehicle to a Westdale location in Hamilton,” said Hamilton police in a news release. “Between 5:30 p.m., on October 31 and 8:30 a.m., on November 1, 2018, an unknown person(s) entered the vehicle stealing the banker’s box, Dewalt Sawsall Powertool and a cellular phone charger.”

Investigators say it is possible the thief doesn’t know what was inside the box and may have discarded them.

Anyone with information that could help police with the investigation are asked to contact Det. Sgt. Chambers at 905-546-3833 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.