Three feet and two hands were found near a gravel pit north of Poplarville Wednesday night.

Chief Investigator Donnie Saucier with the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department said the discovery was made at about 9:30 as a citizen was walking his dog along a gravel road off of Baxterville Rd. During that walk the citizen found what was believed to be the skeletal remains of a human foot.

Sheriff’s Department investigators and the county coroner were called out and were able to determine that the remains were in fact human, Saucier said.

A follow-up search that same night found two more feet and what appears to be two hands. The scene was then secured until daylight at which time the Sheriff’s Department called the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations to process the scene. Cadaver dogs also were called to the scene from Pearl River and Lamar counties. Wildlife and Fisheries also is assisting in the investigation.

Saucier said while there appeared to be some flesh left on the remains, which were described as adult in size, they were in the final stages of decomposition. A lab analysis will give the department a more definitive answer about how old the remains may be. Saucier said the case is still under investigation and would not comment on how many bodies could be involved.

“We’re not going to use the term victim just yet. There’s a dozen different scenarios we’re looking at here,” Saucier said. “We’re in it for the long haul to find out what happened.”