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NOPD searches Bayou St. John after a human head was found

Saturday, a man was fishing and found partial remains.

NEW ORLEANS — The search in Bayou St. John for human remains is over for Tuesday.

For most of the day, about a dozen police were on the scene where partial remains were found. They spent the day at Mirabeau and Wisner searching the water for human remains.

Saturday, a man was fishing and found partial remains. He did not want to talk today, but his friends say a human head was found.

Police and dive teams appeared to have come up empty-handed after spending most of the mid-morning to early afternoon Tuesday searching Bayou St. John.

They set up a command station on the Mirabeau bridge. Officials used sonar and cameras to look under the water, then sent the images back up to be analyzed by Southeast Louisiana Underwater Search and Recovery experts. 

Divers also got in the water. They were looking for human remains after a man who was magnet fishing for metal objects in the water on Saturday flagged down a police car when he spotted a human head. 

Nearby cadaver dogs from Mercy Search and Rescue waited for their cue. They can pick up the scent above the surface of a body as far as 90 feet underwater.

The underwater search and recovery team from Slidell is the same team that, 11 years ago, searched for 14 weeks for a missing Jefferson Parish teacher, who vanished after leaving her friends at a bar in Lakeview. 

Terrilynn Monette's story captured the heart of the community. Dozens of onlookers gathered at the bayou to show support to her family as her car was pulled out of Bayou St. John with her body still in the driver's seat.

With the remains found Saturday, police could look to match dental records and DNA to help identify the person.

NOPD released the following statement on the incident:

“We can confirm that investigation into the unclassified death incident reported on May 18 at the intersection of Mirabeau Avenue and Wisner Boulevard is ongoing. No additional information is currently available.

Anyone with information that can assist in this investigation is urged to contact NOPD Third District detectives at 504-658-6030.”

RELATED: NOPD: Human remains found in water near City Park

RELATED: Slidell teen drowns in Palm Lake

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