Tests being run to identify body found in Pearlington

The state Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting tests on a body found in Pearlington on Friday.

Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam said the lab is taking DNA from the remains found near 9th Avenue should help identify the person.

Adam said the body was found after children playing in the woods near an old makeshift shed found the badly decomposed body in a makeshift bed inside the shed.

“There are different people missing — one in particular is from Pearlington — so we’re hoping to get DNA to help identify them,” Adam said.

The sheriff said the body appears to be that of a male and the body appeared to have been in the shed two to three weeks.

This is a developing story and News 25 will update the report as more information is made available.