The seven burials were found across two surveys conducted in advance of a necessary drainage project: a 2023 survey of 27th Street and Mill Road found five potential burials, and a 2025 survey of Lyons Mill Road found two. Fager said she was not given notice that the bodies had been found until a DDOT employee mentioned it in the context of the Lyons Mill Road report in November 2025, prompting her to request the report. "Although a 2023 remote sensing survey of Mill Road and 27th Street as part of the archeological report identified two potential burial sites within this right of way, potential burials were not identified along the project area where digging or excavation occurred," the spokesman said.