Authorities in Lawrence County are trying to identify a man’s body that was found Wednesday in a shallow grave.

The Lawrence County Sheriff Lessie Buttler said a minister discovered the grave Wednesday morning when he checked on his property.

No one lives there and it was overgrown, Butler said.

The man hadn’t planned to visit until October or November, but had contracted an agency to do work there and went to check on the condition of the land.

“He just checks his place every so often and he was trying to plant some trees. He just happened to go by there,” Butler said.

Upon investigation, deputies discovered the body and called the county coroner and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

“We excavated a larger portion and found that the spot in question contained the body of what appeared to be a black male 25 to 30 years old,” the sheriff’s office reported in a written statement.

Lawrence County Sheriff Lessie Butler said he estimated the body was buried sometime late last month.

The body was sent to the state crime lab.

The sheriff’s office referred to the incident as one of “horrible and disturbing nature.”

Investigators said they were not aware of any missing persons having been reported in Lawrence County and were in contact with neighboring counties to determine if the body matches a description of anyone reported missing.