Erie County Sheriff's deputies responded to a wooded area in North Collins Saturday after human remains were discovered.
Sheriff's spokesman Scott Zylka says his office was notified by hikers in Marion Fricano Town Park. He says a deputy found a boot sticking out from the ground. The deputy verified the boot was covering skeletal remains.
Detectives accompanied by an anthropology team from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania were then called in to excavate the body. Zylka says it's a time consuming process that was expected to continue through much of Sunday.
Once all of the remains are unearthed, they will be turned over to the Erie County Medical Examiner.
Zylka could not say how long the body had been buried.