A man who was burying a pet in the backyard of the home he rents in Modesto discovered human remains, authorities said.
Stanislaus County Sheriff Department says the man found the remains Sunday and called authorities.
Department spokesman Sgt. Tom Letras tells the Modesto Bee deputies worked throughout the evening to exhume the decomposing body.
He says detectives have not identified the victim, who appears to be an adult. He says an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.
Letras says that based on decomposition, the body likely had been buried for months, not years.
A renter at the home since November 2017 told the newspaper he knows nothing about the remains.
Copyright The Associated Press
