COVINGTON, La. — The St. Tammany Parish Office has launched an investigation after the discovery of a human finger inside an alligator snapping turtle.

The finger was discovered by a Bush, La., man who was cleaning the turtle for food. The man reported the finding to the sheriff’s office Monday.

The Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the “large” turtle had been caught on a trout line in western St. Tammany Parish.

The finger was handed over to the coroner’s office, which attempted to identify the finger’s owner. Efforts to obtain a fingerprint were unsuccessful.

Local hospitals were contacted but none had reports of a person with a missing finger.

The St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office Marine Division and the Coroner’s Office are using a cadaver dog and Louisiana Search and Rescue dogs to search the area where the turtle was caught.