SEATTLE, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Authorities say the remains found on the Nisqually Indian Reservation in Washington Nov. 5 belong to an adult woman and were "dismembered by human means."
The Thurston County Sheriff's Office has yet to determine how the woman was dismembers or how she died, The Olympian reported.
"All the recovered pieces of bone, they weren't dismembered by animals," Thurston County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Brady said Thursday. "There was more indication they were dismembered by human means."
Brady said the sheriff's office is investigating the death as a homicide.
"Since day one we've been investigating the death as a homicide," he said. "I don't think this changes our investigation in any way because we still don't know cause of death."
The remains were discovered Nov. 5 by a dog that brought a severed leg to his owner. The dog's owner called authorities several days later.
During a search of the area, authorities found several more body parts, including pieces of a skull, a rib cage, a pelvis, parts of a skull, a jawbone with teeth, and an arm bone.
Dental records may be used to identify the woman, Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock said.
