Four body parts that washed up ashore on Mississippi beaches today probably belong to a decapitated New Orleans woman whose torso turned up days earlier, according to police.


Jaren Lockhart, 22, was reported missing on Tuesday. Her torso was discovered with a stab wound to the chest in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, on Thursday, and was positively identified two days later.


At around 6am on Saturday, a fisherman came across a calf on the beach in Pass Christian, east of Bay St. Louis, Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove told NBC affiliate WDSU.



Victim: Jaren Lockhart, 22, was decapitated and dismembered after going missing on Tuesday

About an hour and a half later, police also found a thigh nearby. The head was discovered to the east of Long Beach.








According to the TV station WLOX, an unspecified fourth body part turned up later in Pass Christian.


Gruesome find: Lockhart's stabbed torso turned up in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, on Thursday

Investigators say the west-to-east current could have carried the remains from New Orleans to Bay St. Louis over a period of two days.

Officials are working to determine if the four remains belong to Ms Lockhart, who apparently had tattoos and piercings over most of her body.

Her brother, Lance Lockhart, told WWLTV that his sister had her nipples and bellybutton pierced; she had two sparrows tattooed on her stomach and a skull tattoo with a pink bow on her ribs.



Last sighting: The mother of a three-year-old girl was last seen leaving a motel on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans




Tragic: Lockhart worked as a dancer on Bourbon Street







Body art: Lockhart's brother said his sister, who was a dancer, had her nipples and bellybutton pierced and had multiple tattoos


Ms Lockhart, mother of a three-year-old girl, was last seen leaving a motel on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans around 8pm on Tuesday.

WDSU reported that her boyfriend told police that she took a cab to Bourbon Street, where she worked as a dancer, and he grew concerned when he could not reach her throughout the night.



Match: The DNA of the discovered body parts will be tested against that of Lockhart (left)

Hancock County Chief Investigator Glenn Grannan said strong evidence indicate that the remains found on Saturday are those of Ms Lockhart.

A positive confirmation will be made through DNA testing.



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