Panola County Sheriff Shane Phelps released more information about the investigation of a body found last Tuesday, Oct. 26, on Aldridge Road (just off Hentz Road), not far from the Pope exit on I-55.

Phelps said his department is waiting to release the official cause of death, and are awaiting confirmation from the state Medical Examiner’s office of the woman’s identity before releasing more information. The sheriff did confirm that the body found was that of a 31-year-old woman who was a resident of Wisconsin.

The woman’s identification was found by operators of a local wrecker service that towed the vehicle for storage last weekend. A deputy contacted the tow company when he saw the car parked in the same place on consecutive days over the weekend of Oct. 22-24.

Phelps said when the owner of the wrecker service found valuables in the car, including cash, he was contacted because the car didn’t appear to be a case when a driver had car trouble, or ran out of gas, and left the car until it could be fixed or taken off the roadside.

Phelps went back to the scene that Tuesday and found the body as he walked in a field adjacent to the road. While the sheriff could not release any details of the investigation, he did say the rumors that the body he discovered had the head removed are not true.

The deceased woman’s family was contacted using the identification in the vehicle, which also has a Wisconsin state tag.

Phelps said the investigation has not yet confirmed any connection between the woman and Panola County, and authorities, for now, believe she was just passing through the county on the day of her death.