Burned human remains in shallow grave discovered in Pickering, Ont.

Homicide investigators have been called in after a person in Pickering, Ont. discovered burned human remains in a shallow grave on a local trail, police say.

According to Durham police, they were called on Sunday to an off-road ATV trail near Concession Road 8 and Sideline 20 after the remains were discovered.

"The citizen had contacted police to advised that they had found something suspicious - in what was described as a shallow grave,"  DRPS Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss- said. "At this point it's believed to be human remains, those remains are believed to be burnt.

The area where the remains were located is approximately 500 meters from the road, police said.

A post-mortem will be conducted to determine more details about the deceased including their age, gender and cause of death.

Forensic investigators are working alongside the coroner's office and a forensic anthropologist to recover the remains, police said.

"They will make determinations of what could have occurred," Bortoluss said.

The scene is located in a rural part of Pickering, just south of the community of Claremont where residents are shocked and concerned after learning about the grim discovery.

"It's a little disturbing - not sure what to make of it whether it was something that happened locally or from a distance," Rob Holmes, who has lived in the area for more than two decades, told CTV News Toronto.

"That's shocking news, so that would lead me to believe someone was aware of that area," Paul Bounds said, who added that the trail is well known to locals.

Investigators were seen riding ATV's on Monday as they searched the area for evidence. Officers were also canvassing nearby homes.

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"They just asked if we had seen anything suspicious in the neighbourhood up until three weeks ago or if we had any footage or anything like that from our security cameras," resident Camilla Arnold said.

Anyone who used the off-road ATV trail in the past three weeks is being asked to come forward and speak with investigators by calling 1-888-579-1520.

Anonymous information can also be sent to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.