MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department is investigating after a body missing head, hands and feet was found near U.S. Highway 78 along the Coldwater River.

Cmdr. Mark Blackson says the black female’s body was discovered Thursday by a Mississippi Department of Transportation work crew.

The body was found without clothes in the northwest corner of DeSoto County five to 10 miles from the Tennessee border.

Blackson estimated the woman’s age as late 20s to early 30s. Without teeth or fingerprints to examine, he said investigators hope DNA can be used to identify the remains.

It was unclear where the body came from, Blackson said, but it is believed the woman was killed elsewhere and brought to the location. Highway 78 is a major four-lane east-west corridor between Memphis, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala.

‘‘There’s no question this is a dump,’’ Blackson said.

The department brought in the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to help with the case. Blackson said murderers don’t often take the time to remove the heads and limbs of their victims.

‘‘Something like this is definitely unusual,’’ he said.