UPDATE: Potential Human Bones Discovered in Grand Rapids

The bones discovered, at a construction site in Grand Rapids on Thursday, October 16th, 2025, have been cleared of being human bones. 

An agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension conferred with Dr. Marcia Regan, the Principal Investigator and Osteology Specialist with the Hamline University Center for Anthropological Services.  Regan was able to determine the bones were not human, "On the bone at the top (near the measuring tape): The flange extending from the shaft is not something seen in humans.  Bone on the bottom: a little trickier, but there is a groove running longitudinally along the shaft -- also not a human characteristic."

The construction site where the bones were dug up, the Itasca County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, built eight single family homes last year and have eight new homes under construction, with four set to finish this fall.  These homes are available for-sale, to those living or working in Itasca County, so long as the family is earning less than $93,600 per year at the time of sale, and is able to qualify for a conventional mortgage. The Itasca County HRA makes these homes affordable, thanks to partnership with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, and the support of private donors and the City of Grand Rapids.

Original Article:

According to a report from the Itasca County Sheriff's Office, potential human bones were found at a construction site on Northwest 7th street at the old forest lake school on Thursday October 16th, 2025.

A construction crew was digging footings for a new house, and found some bones in the dirt pile from the holes dug for the footings. Upon discovering this the construction crew stopped work in this area, and law enforcement was then called.  An officer took photographs of these bones and they were shown to the emergency room doctor on duty at Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital, who felt they could be tibia and fibia bones from a human, but could not say with 100% certainty without having the actual bones and see grooves in them that would be present in humans.  

The entire dig site was taped off with police caution tape.  The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been notified and will assist in the investigation.