An investigation is underway after a body was found Thursday in a burn pile on Topsy Bel Road southeast of Ragley.

Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office Commander Ramby Cormier said Friday authorities were called to an area located behind a residence in the 5600 block of Topsy Bel Road around 4 p.m. Thursday after the Topsy fire department responded to a report of a grass fire.

“The Topsy fire chief got a call of a grass fire and went to the fire and realized he had located a body,” Cormier said.

The fire chief immediately contacted the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The body, which was in the yard of a homeowner’s property, was released to the Jeff Davis Parish Coroner’s Office.

The cause of death and identification of the body is pending. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday, according to Ashley Rodrigue, spokesperson for the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office.

The Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Offices are assisting the State Fire Marshal’s Office in the investigation.

More information will be released as it becomes available, Rodrigue said.