A man with gunshot wounds whose body was found during a residential renovation in Manoa has been dead for about 30 years and probably was killed in the 1970s, Honolulu police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said.

Yu said the approximate time of death was determined by the military Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), which normally identifies the remains of Americans missing in past wars.

Yu said the remains were sent to JPAC because of its specialized skill and knowledge and not because the man was thought to be in the military.

Honolulu police have asked for the public’s assistance in helping to identify the man, described as 30 to 55 years old, about 5 feet 4 to 6 inches tall, with a medium build and wearing Levi’s Panatela brand slacks, which were popular in the 1970s, a dark-colored shirt and white tube socks with blue trim.

The man had gunshot wounds to his head, police said.

Construction workers were digging in the back yard of a residence on Oahu Avenue in Manoa when they unearthed a sock containing what appeared to be a human foot and leg bones, said Kim Buffett, the CrimeStoppers coordinator.

Neighbor Dorothy La Croix said workers have been at the house for the past 10 days.

Then last Thursday and Friday and through Saturday morning, police were at the residence day and night and returned yesterday morning as well.

Yu said the man’s remains were the only ones found at the residence, and that police were checking the records of missing persons in Hawaii to see whether any of them fits the man’s description.

Buffett said the person who now owns the residence is not the original owner.