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Neighbors 'Totally Mystified' After Animal Bones Found In Georgetown Home

GEORGETOWN, Mass. (AP/CBS) — Authorities concluded their search at a home in Georgetown in what they will only say is an ongoing investigation.

On Tuesday investigators announced they had found three bones that they believe are from an animal. The bones will be tested by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to confirm.

The FBI and Massachusetts State Police began the search Friday at the home of Peter Haskell, who died at age 85 last month.

Georgetown Search
Investigators leave a Georgetown house with buckets. (WBZ-TV)

The Essex County district attorney's office is leading the investigation, but has not said what they are looking for.

Throughout Tuesday, investigators were in and out of the home, some in dust masks and hard hats. Some were seen carrying out hundreds of buckets.

Investigators packed up and left late Tuesday afternoon, but according to the district attorney's office, the investigation that brought them to the home is still ongoing.

georgetown Peter Haskell house
Investigators have spent several days at Peter Haskell's home in Georgetown, Massachusetts. (WBZ-TV)

Neighbors say Haskell lived alone. His next-door neighbor told The Daily News of Newburyport that investigators searched his house five years ago with K-9 units.

"We're all just totally mystified," a woman who lives in the neighborhood told WBZ-TV. "To have this so close and in the historic area of Georgetown, it just seems so unusual. It just doesn't fit."

Richard Nunan said neighbors hardly saw Haskell before his death.

"He lived all by himself. He wasn't really that friendly with the neighborhood. You'd never see him," said Nunan.

georgetown Peter Haskell house
Peter Haskell's house in Georgetown, Massachusetts. (WBZ-TV)

The home was surrounded by police tape for several days. Investigators dug up part of the yard and were also looking inside the house.

According to his obituary, Haskell was involved with youth sports as a coach for 67 years in Georgetown, Beverly and Bradford.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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