WASHINGTON — The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office says they have found what appears to be human remains buried in a shallow grave close to Gambrill State Park.

The apparent grave was found by a hiker on Thursday evening off Gambrill Park Road just north of Coxey Brown Road in a wooded area. Officers secured the area overnight and processed the scene on Friday morning.

The sheriff’s office says the bones officers found were significantly decomposed, indicating they had been there for quite some time.

The bones will be sent to the medical examiner’s officer for examination by a staff anthropologist to confirm they are in fact human.