Grisly Discovery At Governor's Mansion As Human Remains Unearthed

A disturbing discovery at North Dakota's governor's mansion has uncovered seven coffins with human remains after construction crews hit a long-forgotten burial ground.Freshly smoothed dirt rests behind a fence outside the North Dakota governor’s residence in Bismarck on Sept. 30, 2026, after seven coffins containing human remains were exhumed from the site. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)The shocking find came at North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong's (R) official residence in Bismarck, where workers were carrying out a $2.35 million security upgrade, according to the North Dakota Monitor.Preliminary exams identified the remains of two women, two men, two teenage boys and a toddler. An unidentified wooden box was also recovered, officials told PEOPLE."It's going to take a while now to do the research and analysis," Brandon Solberg, facilities management director for the office, said in an interview with the local news outlet.The mystery started May 19, when contractors digging near the southwest corner of the property found human remains and fragments of coffin hardware. Work in that area stopped as archaeologists from the State Historical Society of North Dakota moved in."After the initial remains were discovered on May 19 while contractors were conducting work in the Governor's Residence yard, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) paused work in the immediate area," the agency said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. "Initial results identified a total of nine additional anomalies indicating potential for 10 graves in the work area."The grounds once served as Bismarck's first community cemetery from 1873 to 1877, Realtor.com reported. Officials had believed the graves were moved to other cemeteries in the 1880s.