A teenage boy running with a track team at a Long Island park made a disturbing discovery on Thursday afternoon.

The runners were on the trails behind Plandome Pond Park in Manhasset, New York, when one of them saw human remains in the brush, NBC New York reported Friday.

In a news release Thursday, the Nassau County Police Department said:

The Homicide Squad reports the details of an investigation that occurred on Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 5:44 pm in Manhasset. According to detectives, skeletal human remains were located in a wooded area of Plandome Pond Park located at 192 Lindberg Street. The investigation is ongoing.

Now, officials believe the find may help solve a missing persons case. Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said the remains were female and they do not believe anything criminal occurred.

An image showed the park where the remains were found:

Authorities are working to determine if it is 79-year-old Shi Hua Xu, who left her home in Great Neck in late 2025 and vanished. The woman has dementia and it was her routine to take long walks. However, she was not wearing her tracker when she disappeared, and the community launched a search for her when she did not return home.

Neighbor Diana Cotumaccio, who lives near the park, told ABC 7, “Last night there were several cop cars along with police officers, and they indicated to me there were remains in the park. I’m here 30 years and this is a new one for me.”

A reporter for the outlet said the student track team was from Manhasset High School.

Meanwhile, Xu’s family members positively identified a piece of clothing officials located at the scene, saying it belonged to the elderly woman.

In speaking of the young man who found the remains, Plandome Heights Mayor Kenneth Riscica said, “When the detectives asked him how he was doing, his response was ‘I’m doing fine. I only hope this brings closure to a family that lost someone.'”