Human remains found in wooded area in Meriwether County

A human body part was found Monday evening in a wooded area in Luthersville, Ga., Meriwether County Sheriff Chuck Smith announced this afternoon in a press release.

Officials are still trying to identify the deceased and determine cause of death.

Smith said patrol deputies responded to a remote area of Coleman Creek Circle around 6 p.m. Monday to investigate after someone reported finding possible human remains in a wooded area.

“Our scene examination revealed that one human body part in a skeletal form was found,” Smith said in the release. “The body part appears to have been in its current state for an extended period of time due to its condition.”

Smith said the sheriff’s office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Scene Unit photographed and processed the scene. The Alpha Team K9 cadaver dogs were called in to conduct a grid search to locate any other human remains in the area.

No additional discovery has been found, Smith said this afternoon.

The Meriwether County Coroner’s Office responded to the area and transported the body part to the GBI crime lab, which is trying to determine the race, sex, approximate age and any apparent causes of death.

“They will compare any DNA evidence that they have on file against any missing persons in the database,” Smith stated. “The GBI crime lab will utilize their resources in forensic science to help with identifying this skeletal remain and determining approximately how long the person has been deceased.”

Smith said the sheriff’s office has forwarded all missing persons information reported to this agency to the GBI for comparison.

“We will release additional information once it comes available from the crime lab and our investigation,” Smith said.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 1:05 PM with the headline "Human remains found in wooded area in Meriwether County."