A 68 year old woman in Marathon, a coastal area northeast of Athens, told to police that she buried her own mother in the family’s backyard years ago so she could keep collecting the elderly woman’s pension. On Friday, investigators located the bones wrapped in a sheet inside a basement storage room at the property.

A prosecutor is at the scene, and both an anthropologist and a forensic examiner have been notified to determine whether the remains belong to the elderly woman.

Police opened the investigation about two weeks ago after the woman’s daughter, who has lived abroad for years, filed a report saying she had lost contact with her grandmother for roughly a decade. The granddaughter told authorities her grandmother would now be 90 if still alive.

That complaint led police to check records held by the greek social security and pension system. They found that pension payments in the elderly woman’s name had continued for years as her death was never declared. Police also determined that withdrawals were still being made from the elderly woman’s bank account until recently, with the most recent one in August.

When questioned, the 68 year old daughter acknowledged burying her mother on the property to keep receiving the payments. She has since cited data privacy protections when pressed for details, though she reportedly pointed investigators toward a burial site. Describing her mother’s death, she is quoted as saying, “She was elderly. She died of natural causes. I don’t remember where I put her.” Asked why there had been no funeral, she said, “That’s a personal matter.”

On Thursday, police and specialized crews, including bulldozers, searched the property’s garden but did not locate the remains. Investigators said the woman appeared disoriented, and her account did not yet helped them find the body.

Both the 68 year old daughter and her son, the elderly woman’s grandson, are currently at the house. He previously told reporters that he had no involvement in the case and had not lived there full time. He said his mother had repeatedly told him she had “taken care of” the situation and had claimed his grandmother no longer lived there. He also said her condition had deteriorated significantly in recent years.

Greece’s public prosecutor has been informed of the case but has not sought the 68 year old woman’s arrest. Investigators are continuing to search for the body and determine the mother’s cause of death. A criminal act has not been ruled out, though newsit.gr reported it is not currently considered the most likely explanation.

* This story has been updated.