MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Investigators in Martin County said they have identified body parts that were found earlier in the week at the Hungryland Wildlife Preserve.
However, the sheriff's office said Friday that they continue to search the preserve after a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer found what appears to be a shallow grave with human remains.
Detectives said the arm, hand and part of a leg found Thursday near a gator-infested canal are believed to be that of 43-year-old Dustin Davis Mills of St. Lucie County.
The medical examiner was able to obtain fingerprints from the victim's hand, which was located near a large alligator that was guarding the body part.
A second body part was located on the bank of a different canal about a mile from the first location.
Detectives, the sheriff's office dive team and FWC officers spent Thursday combing hundreds of acres of the preserve searching for the remainder of Mills' body.
Detectives suspect that Mills was the victim of a homicide.
The sheriff's office said the body parts showed evidence of being removed with a sharp instrument.
Mills served time in prison for multiple crimes including manufacturing, sale and delivery of marijuana, trafficking in illegal substances, resisting arrest with violence, and battery on law enforcement or firefighter.
He was released from the Department of Corrections in February 2020 and has not had a permanent address since that release.
The public is urged to call the Martin County Sheriff’s Office at 220-7060 if you have any information about Mills or his death.
It's unclear if the shallow grave is connected to Mills or is from a different body.