An autopsy is being performed on human remains found on a property near Ste. Anne on Thursday.
The property owner's dog brought home a human skull and RCMP officers found more human remains when they searched the area.
Officers said Monday it was too soon to tell whose remains were found.
Sgt. Line Karpish police don't yet know whether the person was male or female of even how long ago that person died.
Preliminary autopsy results, which investigators hope will reveal the gender of the deceased person, could be available by Tuesday, officers said.
"There are several people missing in Manitoba and we can't lose sight of the fact that the location is close to the Trans-Canada Highway; there's a lot of transient people on the Trans-Canada Highway," he said.
Karpish said the skeleton was not buried when officers found it.
Biological anthropologist Mirjana Roksandic said that just because a body is sitting on the surface of the ground when it is found, doesn't mean it wasn't in a shallow grave at some point.
Erosion or vegetation could help push a body to the surface, she said.
Roksandic said dental records and DNA are quick tests that can be done on recent remains.
"The sex, age, any particular mark on the skeleton that could help you identify the person positively," Roksandic said.
If the body has been there for a long time, soil samples and carbon dating could also help identify the remains, but those tests take time, she said.
-with a report from Rachel Legacé
