A badly decomposed body believed to be that of a slightly built adult male was discovered in a wooded area behind Paul’s Seafood Deli on Sullivan Drive just south of Bogalusa Friday afternoon.

Authorities said the man’s race could not be immediately determined, but that he might have had tattoos on his legs. Clothing scattered in the area included a green camouflage cap with Lumberton, Miss., written on the front, and a pair of black tennis shoes that had Velcro rather than lace closures.

It is believed the body could have been in the woods for several months to a year.

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Washington Parish Coroner Roger Casama’s Office said the body was not buried, but draped over a log in a swampy area. 

DNA testing could take a couple of weeks, said Sheriff Robert Crowe.

The circumstances of the death and the identification of the victim are under investigation by both local law enforcement and the LSU Forensic Anthropology team led by Mary Manhein, who is known as one of the nation’s leaders in that field.

It was reportedly the LSU team that located the body, but the discovery actually started with one body part on July 25.

The beginnings of the case were made complex by a language barrier between authorities and the Korean owners of Paul’s Seafood whose dog came out of the woods with a severed hand.

“They said they called authorities on July 25 and said a dog had brought up a human hand,” said Crowe. “We’re not sure who they called.”

When law enforcement did not respond and the hand started to smell, the family buried the decomposing body part behind the convenience store, he said.

But a family member or friend in Hammond was reportedly ultimately able to communicate the situation to the Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office, which notified the WPSO.

On Wednesday, detectives went in search of the buried hand.

“They went out and could not find it,” said Crowe. “Then the relative who buried it returned and showed them where he’d buried it.”

With the hand recovered, the WPSO started looking for the rest of the body.

“We did a grid search and brought cadaver dogs out, but it was so hot and dry they didn’t pick up anything,” said Crowe.

The coroner’s office, which  took possession of the hand, called in the team from LSU.

“They got here around 1 p.m. and found the body in about an hour,” said Crowe.

The sheriff said the only person he knows of who’s been reported missing in the Bogalusa area is Larkie Toups, who disappeared on Jan. 1, 2008.

Toups was described as being about 5-foot-6, 160 pounds. But he was reportedly last seen wearing different clothing than was found scattered at the site where the body was discovered Friday.