OKTIBBEHA COUNTY — Partial skeletal remains of an adult were found in a heavily wooded area in the Adaton community west of Starkville city limits Tuesday.
The Oktibbeha County sheriff’s deputies found the remains a quarter mile from Reed Road after receiving a call about a death in the area.
The remains appeared to have been there for several years, said Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office Commander Brett Watson.
Deputies were not able to determine whether the body was male or female, but clothing recovered from the scene helped determine the person was likely an adult.
Watson said the OCSO doesn’t have a missing-person case to link to the remains.
“We’ll talk to surrounding counties and see if they have missing persons who could be in our area,” Watson said. “We’ll work a starting point, take the most likely and move forward.”
The remains will be sent to a crime lab to determine if DNA testing is possible to identify the victim.
Watson said the remains weren’t buried. He described the area as heavily wooded with thick brush. Adaton is sparsely populated with scattered houses.
The investigation is ongoing.
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