Steinbach RCMP officers found human remains in Ste. Anne on Friday after a man who lives there called police to report that a human skull was found in his yard.
On Thursday afternoon, his dog Lucy came home with a skull she had dug up across the road in a forest, the man said.
Officers responded to the call, seized the skull and conducted a brief search of the property on Thursday, said police.
The RCMP Search and Rescue Team conducted a comprehensive search of the bushed area around the man's property on Friday and found additional human remains, officers said.
Neighbour Lindy Williams said she was surprised to hear about what the police found.
"I wonder, who got lost in there or did a bear get them?" she said.
Another neighbour, Cliff Smith, had a different theory.
"I thought gee whiz, I thought maybe someone drowned in there and they didn't know about it," he said.
The Winnipeg RCMP Forensic Services have conducted a forensic examination of the scene. An autopsy of the human remains will be conducted on Monday.
-with a report from CTV's Laura Lowe
