Harrisonburg — Catahoula Parish deputies have enlisted the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate how the remains of a young female ended up in the woods north of Harrisonburg.

Catahoula Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Ricky White said the FBI was called in Tuesday to help with the investigation.

“We are pulling together our resources and information and going from there,” he said.

The bones were found Friday by a hunter.

White said the agency has not gotten the results in from forensic tests, and he does not know when they will be ready.

“These are complex tests, and they take time to come in,” he said.

After a few days of investigation, forensic pathologists called in from Louisiana State University have made more discoveries regarding the remains.

Director of the LSU Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Laboratory Mary Manhein said she believes the girl to be between the ages of 12 to 16.

Manhein also said the remains have been in the woods anywhere from a few weeks to several months.

The remains of the girl indicate she was 5-feet-four-inches tall or shorter, Manhein said.

“Because her bones did not finish forming yet, it is hard to tell exactly,” she said.

Manhein said the teen had braces, but only on her top row of teeth.

“What is interesting is that she has no braces on the bottom,” she said. “She also had pink rubber bands connecting the braces in her mouth.”

Manhein said the victim’s skull had a unique characteristic that may help identify the remains.

“Up the upper right side of the top of her mouth, her canine has not erupted yet,” she said. “This girl would have had a gap in her smile on just that one side.”

The victim’s hair was also a very thick and full brown, Manhein said.

“It was medium length to long and it had a bit of a wave to it,” she said.

White said there is nothing to do now but continue on with the investigation.

“We are just going to continue to run down leads,” he said.