Construction crew uncovers Native American remains likely hundreds of years old in Colorado

Updated Aug 11, 2015

During the installation of a drainage pipe at a new housing development in Colorado, a construction crew was forced to place a call to the local coroner after discovering a skull.

According to KKTV News, archaeologist Thomas Carr examined the skull and excavated the site, located in Fountain, for several hours, eventually uncovering an entire skeleton. The El Paso County Coroner’s said the remains belonged to a girl between 12 and 16 years old.

The office originally estimated the remains to be between 50 and 75 years old. But after a Carr completed the excavation, they found out the estimates were off.

“They are ancient remains…anywhere from several hundred to thousands years old,” said Detective Sheyna Marshall with the Fountain Police Department. “It’s definitely a different experience, something I never would have ever thought I’d be a part of…out of respect for the person—because she is a person—you definitely respect it, you definitely have the right kind of emotion.”

Carr determined the remains were a female of Native American descent and that the body was intentionally buried.

The remains will be examined further at the History Colorado Center to officially date the bones. They will then be returned to her Native American descendants. The Ute tribal representatives and the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs will assist with the next steps. Fountain police are no longer part of the investigation.

Construction workers have been given the OK to resume work at the subdivision.