Police have discovered the remains of a goat named Hazelnut who was stolen from her home at the Great River School in St. Paul earlier this week.

Officers responded around 9 a.m. Friday to reports of "suspicious items" in the 300 block of Lafond, about 2.5 miles from the school. Upon arrival they found the goat remains in a plastic storage box, St. Paul Police Sgt. Mike Ernster said.

The investigation found that there is a "high likelihood" this goat is the one stolen from the school, he added. The case remains under investigation and no arrests have been made.

School volunteer Lynn Overvoorde said those she has spoken with are "really devastated about this."

Hazelnut was stolen sometime between Monday night and Tuesday, when someone went to the goats' pen to feed them and found her missing.

"These goats have really become an ingrained part of the community, they're more than just farm animals to us," Overvoorde said.

Great River School is on Energy Park Drive just south of Como Park.

The friendly goat was part of the larger animal care program at Great River, a Montessori school which also has chickens and a garden that students help care for.

The school has been hoping to use the goats as part of a larger project where children learn to milk them, and sell the milk or cheese to learn about economics, Overvoorde said. The three goats were added to the school at the start of the last school year.