PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A crew cleaning homeless encampments found human remains in downtown Portland on Tuesday morning, police officials said.

Officers responded to a “suspicious priority” call near SW Harvey Milk Street and SW Naito Parkway just after 9:15 a.m.

A crew with Rapid Response, the city-contracted group that cleans houseless encampments, initially came out to clean the area on Monday. They were called back out Tuesday morning when there were “new items” at the intersection.

That’s when crews discovered what appeared to be human remains and immediately called it in, a Portland Police spokesperson said.

READ ALSO | Sheriff: Oregon murder suspect found with blood on clothes later admits to shooting

The medical examiner’s office and the bureau’s homicide unit came out to investigate.

“Anytime human remains are found, our homicide unit will take it seriously. They want to look into this to see how this happened, where it happened,” PPB spokesperson Mike Benner said, adding that as of Tuesday afternoon the death has not been ruled a homicide.

Officers responded to a “suspicious priority” call near SW Harvey Milk Street and SW Naito Parkway just after 9:15 a.m. (KATU)

Officers responded to a “suspicious priority” call near SW Harvey Milk Street and SW Naito Parkway just after 9:15 a.m. (KATU)

Investigators are talking with people in the area and checking surveillance cameras to track down leads in the case.

“The Portland Police Bureau recognizes that a discovery like this, a discovery of human remains, especially in downtown, in broad daylight, is concerning. But I can assure you that our detectives are on top of this and trying to determine what happened,” said Benner.

Benner later confirmed that the remains were indeed found in a garbage bag. However, at this time, he is not able to release specific information on what kind of remains were found or how long they may have been out there.

“We’re in the early stages of this investigation, and that will come out in due time,” said Benner.

Anyone with information who has not already spoken with police can contact homicidetips@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 26-298767.