Search teams find human bones behind Virginia hospital: 'It's really heartbreaking'

PETERSBURG, Va. — Community members searching for a missing man in a mental health crisis made a disturbing discovery in the woods behind Southside Medical Center in Petersburg — human bones].

A woman who found the remains, who asked not to be identified, said the experience has stayed with her.

"It's hard to sleep at this point, to be honest... every time that I close my eyes, I just see those images," she said.

The woman was one of several people who spent nearly two weeks searching for the missing man who was later found unharmed.

But during one of those searches, the group made the discovery in the woods behind the hospital.

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"It was shocking. You know that it was a person, a deceased body there," she said.

The woman said the group first noticed shoes along the wood line before finding more.

"We walk a little bit further and we start seeing bones. Bones were everywhere," she said. "We find a t-shirt. We find pants but it was with the bones in it."

Petersburg Police responded and began an investigation.

Officers found the bones spread out across the scene and quickly determined they were likely human.

The remains were taken to the Medical Examiner's Office in Richmond.

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"We have to make sure we make positive identification," Petersburg Police Chief Travis Christian said. "And then determine how that person got there and if there was any type of trauma to the body."

Detectives are now working to connect the remains to any missing persons reports in the region.

"We will look through and find out if there are any missing persons in our area, or the Tri Cities Area, that could possibly connect to the individual," Christian said.

Based on the clothing found at the scene, police believe the remains are likely male.

"We would anticipate that it was probably at least a year," Christian said when asked how long the remains were outside.

A positive identification could take time due to a backlog at the state medical examiner's office.

"There's a back log in the Medical Examiner's Office and the work that they do, and we respect that, so we really don't know when we'll get an answers back from them," Christian said.

For the woman who made the discovery, the experience has been difficult to process.

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"It's really heartbreaking," she said. "I'm just thinking on that scene but at the same time, thinking about the family that this person may still be looking for."

Petersburg Police are asking anyone who knows of a male who has been missing in the area for some time to call 861-1212.

This is a developing story, so check back with WTVR.com for updates. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have info, photos or videos to share.