Wednesday 7 a.m. (AP) – Pulaski County authorities say remains found near Dixon belonged to a young person who died at least a year ago but they have not been able to identify the body.

Pulaski County Sheriff Ron Long says the remains were those of a pre-teenager. The body’s gender has not been determined. Long says it’s unclear how long the remains had been in the area before a photographer found them over the weekend.

The Lake Sun Leader reports St. Louis University forensic experts have been asked to help identify the body.

Long says investigators believe the person has been dead for at least a year but the time frame could be longer.

He says no current missing adolescent cases in the county match the time frame of the remains.

(AP) – A sheriff says the cause of death of a child whose remains were found in south-central Missouri might never be known, but investigators hope to learn the identity.

A photographer taking pictures of trees discovered the skeletal remains on Saturday on private, rural property near Dixon, about 30 feet from a road.

Pulaski County Sheriff Ron Long said Monday the remains appear to have been at the site at least a year. A forensic pathologist concluded they were those of a preteen adolescent, but the gender is unknown.

Long says the limited physical evidence means the cause of death could be impossible to determine. For now, he says, investigators are checking area reports of missing children from the past few years.