STARKVILLE — The Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday positively identified the body of a woman found off County Lake Road on Sept. 4 as Virginia T. Hood, 45, of Hattiesburg.
Though OCSO officials made a preliminary ID based on personal items found near the body, dental records helped the state medical examiner identify Hood, according to an OCSO press release.
No cause of death has been determined, as the state medical examiner awaits toxicology results.
Hood’s body was discovered in a wooded area by people riding four-wheelers. According to the OCSO, foul play wasn’t suspected at that time and isn’t part of the current investigation.
“All we know is she left her boyfriend, walked off and ended up out there,” Oktibbeha County Sheriff Dolph Bryan said.
OCSO Commander Brett Watson added: “We feel like we know she was out there on her own accord and not because somebody took her out there.”
Hood was never reported missing, and she’d fallen out of contact with her family and moved to Oktibbeha County for personal reasons, according to Watson.
OCSO’s first notification of Hood’s disappearance was on Sept. 4.
It’s unknown how long Hood’s body went undiscovered.
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