Adult human remains were discovered in the Sandy Stream in Unity last week and Maine State Police are investigating, authorities said Wednesday.

The remains of what appears to be an adult male were discovered Friday by kayakers who contacted the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office, according to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

State police detectives collected the remains and have consulted with the state medical examiners office, McCausland said in a news release. The remains appear to have been in the stream for several years, according to McCausland.

Investigators have also reviewed missing person cases on file but have found no obvious match to the remains, McCausland said.

“There will be additional searches but nothing is a clear indicator at this point,” McCausland said during a phone call Wednesday. “(We’re) hoping someone comes forward that has some information about a missing person that we may not have that can give us additional information on who this person was.”

Detectives, game wardens and state police evidence technicians have conducted searches of the area and have planned to conduct more searches of the stream and surrounding areas this week.

McCausland couldn’t confirm the exact location that the remains were found or the conditions of the water in the area.

The stream has relatively calm conditions, according to Buck O’Herin, trails stewardship coordinator for Waldo County.

“There’s very easy and slow currents, a sandy rocky bottom — not dangerous by any means,” O’Herin said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I know there are places along the stream where there are deeper pools … it’s quite a meandering stream.” 

O’Herin said that the Hills to Sea Trail, a 47-mile trail that connects Unity Village to City Point in Belfast, intersects with the stream at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, located at 294 Crosby Brook Road. At that location, hikers must cross the stream to continue on the trail, according to O’Herin.

Police asked that anyone with information on the human remains to call the Maine State Police in Augusta at 624-7076.