Police have made a macabre discovery this week at a former children’s home on the British island of Jersey. The remains of a child’s skeleton were found at the Haut de la Garenne. The forensic experts are trying to establish the identity of the child.

Trained dogs have identified six more sites, including a hidden bricked-up cellar. The police will start as soon as possible the excavation works at the cellar area. They have temporarily ceased the excavation due to structural concerns.

The authorities have begun to investigate allegations of sexual and physical abuse dating back 40 years, at a former children’s home.

CNN reports that more than 150 people have claimed to have been sexually and physically abused at the children’s home or other institutions on the island since the discovery.

People living in Jersey, Britain, Germany and even Australia are being interviewed by 20 police officers with respect to the time they spent in the home in the Historic Abuse Inquiry.

Jersey’s Chief Minister Frank Walker said in a statement that there is “no hiding place in Jersey for anyone who abused children or who in any way may have colluded with that abuse.”

Former Jersey Health Minister Stuart Syvret told BBC that there has been a “culture of cover-up” child abuse on the island.

The police began searching Haut de la Garenne on February 19, after receiving information related to their Historic Abuse Inquiry. Police are also examining a list of missing persons, and are trying to see whether their case is related to the remains found at Haut de la Garenne.

The investigation led to the arrest of a first suspect, Gordon Claude Wateridge, 76. He was charged on January 30 with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16 and unlawful possession of firearm, Bloomberg reports. It is believed that the assaults took place at Haut de la Garenne between 1969 and 1979.

The children’s home was closed in 1986. Since 2004, the building has been used as a youth hostel.