About 70 cremated remains found on public land near Searchlight

Federal land managers and local police are investigating the discovery of what local media described as about 70 piles of cremated human remains scattered in a remote stretch of desert near the small town of Searchlight, Nevada, roughly an hour and about 50 miles south of Las Vegas. The remains were first reported to authorities after an anonymous person stumbled upon the site and provided photographs to a local television station, according to those reports.

The Bureau of Land Management confirmed in an email to news outlets that human remains were found on public land outside Searchlight and that the agency is investigating the incident alongside Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Local television reports said the site contained dozens of small gray piles of ash and pulverized bone clustered near a dirt road off U.S. 95, with photos showing fragments intermingled with desert vegetation. Some accounts said observers also noticed what appeared to be burned flesh, a broken urn and fragments of zip ties at the scene.

Media reports varied on the exact date of discovery, with some saying the remains were found in late July and others citing days in late August. The BLM...