Police on Friday said they found “partial skeletal human remains” as they investigate the disappearance of two members of a Fayetteville-area family.

Blake Deven, 17, and London Deven, 27, may have been missing “for years,” Police Chief Kemberle Braden said at an April 5 news conference.

In an update on the city’s website on Friday afternoon, police said the remains were sent to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Police call on public for help

Police said they don’t know the identity of the person or persons they found.

“Testing could take weeks or months and do [sic.] not always result in a positive identification,” according to the police statement.

Police declined to say where they found the remains but confirmed the location was not the Deven home on Berriedale Drive that police and the FBI searched on April 8.

Police urged anyone with information about the case to call Fayetteville Police at 910-578-2697 or the FBI at 800-225-5324, and online at tips.fbi.gov.

“Unusual” missing person cases, chief says

On March 28, the FBI and police asked the public for help in finding Blake Devin. Police soon learned that London Devin also was missing, Braden said at the April 5 news conference. Blake Devin, he said, was last seen alone at a local Walmart.

Police on April 5 executed a search warrant at the family’s former home, Braden said. The family living there now “has no connection to this investigation,” he said.

“These are unusual missing-persons cases,” Braden said at the April 5 news conference. “… Blake and London have been missing for years. This will be a complex investigation and will likely take time.

“Detectives are piecing together a timeline of events and seeking information from anyone who has interacted with or made observations of Blake or London at any time,” Braden said. “Any interaction or sighting, no matter how recent or old, are significant in these cases.”

The Devin family has lived in the Fayetteville area since 2015, Braden said.

“We’re in regular contact with family members,” the chief said April 5. “We are following leads based on information they provided, and we appreciate their cooperation at this time.”