Troy PD investigate human remains discovery at Burden Pond

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- On Sunday night, Troy Police Patrol Officers responded to Burden Pond for a report of discovered bones. Officers determined that the remains were human and are actively investigating.

Around 5:30 p.m., officers responded to the pond after a caller reported having discovered a possible human skull, while on walk. Officers responded, observed the remains and secured the area.

Police say investigators and evidence technicians are actively working to recover the bones properly. As of Monday morning, it is unknown who the deceased is, how long the remains have been in the area, how the individual may have died and if any crime was committed.

Two years ago police searched near this area for signs of Jaliek Rainwalker, a pre-teen who went missing in 2007. Jaliek’s adoptive father Stephen Kerr told police Jaliek had run off from this family home on Hill Street in Greenwich. What really happened to him, still remains a mystery.

NEWS10 has learned that police called his adoptive grandmother Barbara Reeley to inform her of the search.

“If it's not Jaliek I'll go back into the mode of waiting every day to hear. Which I've been in for years and many many other people who have cared about Jaliek for all this time will probably go back into the same mode” said Reeley.

In 2017, Cambridge-Greenwich Police Chief George Bell told NEWS10 that Jaliek’s adoptive father Stephen Kerr remained the key person of interest in the case.

According to Assistant Chief of Police Steven Barker, there is no danger to the surrounding community. He also said there will be a police presence at the scene while the investigation continues.

The case is being investigated by members of the Rensselaer County Medical Examiner's Office, State Police, Department Detectives and Evidence Technicians. Police ask if anyone has information regarding the discovery to contact Troy Police Department Detectives at 518-270-4421 or online at their website, troypd.org.