Human bones found at campsite fire

SOUTH PORTLAND – Bones discovered at a makeshift campsite that was destroyed by fire were human, police said.

The state Medical Examiner’s Office informed police on Monday that the remains were those of two people age 20 or older. One was a male, but the other’s gender has not been determined.

The bones were found Friday near what appears to be a makeshift shelter that burned a quarter-mile from Highland Avenue. There was also a mattress, a kerosene heater and what may have been tarps used to make a shelter.

There was no sign of foul play in the deaths that investigators believe occurred weeks, if not months, ago, Police Chief Edward Googins said.

“I would say at this point we are investigating it as though whoever it was died in a campsite fire,” Googins said Monday. “There’s nothing at this point to indicate there’s foul play there.”