- Human remains found on Canada’s Prince Edward Island could be linked to a 19th-century shipwreck.
- Similar evidence of past shipwrecks has been discovered in Canada in recent years.
- A local said he thought more remains would likely be found in the area as erosion continues.
Human remains found on Canada’s Prince Edward Island may be linked to a 19th-century shipwreck, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has said, per the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
The force said on Facebook that officers had received reports of human remains found on January 27 at 4 p.m.
RCMP Cpl. Gavin Moore said that it appeared that the cliff “had eroded with time and revealed the human remains,” per the CBC.
“Police are investigating, and have not ruled out that the remains could be connected to a historical ship wreck burial,” the RCMP said in the statement, noting that “human remains have been located in this area in the past.”
The coroner’s office responded to the callout and is investigating the discovery.
Moore said that human remains had previously been discovered in the region in the 1950s and 1960s.
“As it was reported at that time, it was believed that it was possibly connected to a shipwreck from the 1800s,” he continued.
He added that that was “a separate investigation [but] very similar to this one.”
It’s not the first time human remains found in Canada have been linked back to 1800s shipwrecks.
In 2019, the CBC reported that the remains of 21 people from an 1847 shipwreck had been discovered in Gaspé, Quebec.
The ship was carrying 180 people from Ireland when it sank off of the coast of Cap-des-Rosiers, north of Prince Edward Island, per the report.
One local, Rodney Wood, told the CBC that the discovery did not come as a shock to him, saying that his father had found remains in the area multiple times in the past.
“I just think there’s probably more bones to be revealed yet, as erosion occurs. I’m sure there will be more bodies discovered, I guess,” he added.
Business Insider contacted the RCMP on Prince Edward Island for comment.
