A woman last seen at the Casco home where human remains were found last weekend had been reported missing in March, according to court records.

Skeletal remains were found Saturday in an outbuilding next to this home at 196 Poland Spring Road in Casco. A family member found the bones while cleaning out their deceased father’s residence. Google Earth photo

Maine State Police have said little about the investigation into the skeletal remains discovered last weekend by relatives in an outbuilding next to the Casco home of Douglas Scott Sr., who was 82 when he died March 4. A relative cleaning out the home called 911 on Saturday to report the remains had been found in a shed on the property at 196 Poland Spring Road.

Scott’s daughter, Denise Scott Ramsey, had been reported missing by one of her brothers, who noted in probate court documents that she was last seen at the house on Poland Spring Road but lost contact with family members over a year ago. “No one has heard anything for quite a while,” Douglas Scott Jr. wrote in the court filing.

State police confirmed Wednesday that detectives are aware of the missing person report and are working with the family to try to obtain more information. Detectives have been interviewing witnesses and other people of interest, police said.

Family members could not be reached or did not respond to messages Wednesday.

The remains were examined by the Medical Examiner’s Office on Sunday morning. Determining the person’s identity and cause of death required further tests and it could take three or more weeks to get results, said Shannon Moss, a state police spokeswoman.

“We’re in a holding pattern waiting on additional testing from the medical examiner and for DNA tests to come back,” Moss said. “At this point we need to try to identify who this person is and if they can figure out how the person died.”

Douglas Scott Sr. had four sons and a daughter, and he died on March 4 without a will or other instructions, according to documents filed in Cumberland County Probate Court. The search for Denise Ramsey is documented in the court filings as part of the probate process. Family members have not seen or heard from Ramsey in “quite a while,” according to an affidavit for diligent search filed by Douglas Scott Jr.

In the affidavit, Douglas Scott Jr. said the family had checked with many people on Facebook about her whereabouts and had been unable to reach her on the phone for the past year and a half. Ramsey’s last known whereabouts were the house in Casco. She was reported as a missing person to the Social Security Administration and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office on March 22, 2021, according to the affidavit.

The sheriff’s office referred all questions about the missing persons report and Casco case to state police.

The ad seeking Denise Ramsey was published in the Portland Press Herald in March.

Probate court documents show the sons of Douglas Scott Sr. could not initially agree on arrangements for his remains, which were being held at a funeral home in Lewiston. An agreement filed in court shows the family ultimately agreed to have his body cremated.

As part of the probate process, a public notice was published in the Portland Press Herald in late March looking to locate Denise Ramsey. The notice was labeled “missing person.” It said her last known location was Casco and gave a phone number to contact one of her brothers.

A hearing is scheduled on June 23 to consider a petition for formal probate of Douglas Scott Sr.’s estate and appointment of one of his sons as personal representative of the estate.