Police discovered human skeletal remains in the backyard of a home on Detroit's east side Wednesday night. 

Investigators say the remains appear to be of an elderly homeowner.

One neighbor told CBS News Detroit that he spotted the remains in his neighbor's backyard and called 911.

"I thought it was a dead dog at first. There's been a foul smell over there for about a month, so I finally peered over the gate in the back, and it was a skull in the backyard ... a human head," said Christopher Branch.

Branch has lived on this street for a month and did not know the man whom neighbors said lived next door.

"Concerned for my family because it was just a skull. ... Like, where's the rest of him?" Branch said. 

The shocking discovery was made at a home on Terrell Avenue near 8 Mile and Van Dyke around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The remains were of an elderly person who police say had been dead for quite some time. The remains have been sent to a lab to identify the victim and cause of death.

Meanwhile, neighbors are shaken up and tell CBS News Detroit that the man who lived in this home always displayed unusual behavior and had multiple dogs roaming his house, sometimes running loose.

Police say no arrests have been made at this point. The medical examiner needs to pinpoint the cause of death before that's even considered.

Investigators say the home was unoccupied when officers arrived on the scene.