Suspicious death investigation ongoing after dog unearths human remains in backyard

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A digging dog uncovered human remains in a Kansas City backyard around 10 a.m. Sunday near Paloma Avenue and Topping Avenue not far from I-70 and Van Brunt Boulevard.

An ongoing suspicious death investigation is underway.

Detectives, crime scene investigators and the medical examiner will examine evidence and complete tests to determine how the person died, their gender, age, and identity.

Police said a 911 caller who moved to a home not too long ago noticed their dog focused on something in the backyard.

“He had noticed his dog was digging in the backyard and so he went out to check on his dog and see what he was digging at,” Kansas City Missouri Police Department Sgt. Jake Becchina said. “He found what he believed to be possibly skeletal remains of a human there in the backyard.”

The first officers who arrived called detectives and crime scene investigators to the scene to conduct a thorough search for possible evidence.

“It’s a very slow process to go through all of that. They’ll be working very closely with the medical examiner,” Becchina said. “They will work through all their testing and examination to determine the cause and manner of death. That can take a little bit of time in this case due to the condition of the remains.”

Anyone with information about the ongoing investigation can anonymously call the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers tips hotline at 816-474-TIPS. If the case is determined to be a homicide, Crime Stoppers offers up to a $25,000 reward for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest in Kansas City, Mo homicide cases. Anyone with information can also call the Homicide Unit directly at 816-234-5043.

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