KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Jackson County authorities have been searching a riverside area after determining that a shoe found this week contained human remains.

The county medical examiner’s office said there were remains of a human foot inside the shoe, which was found Tuesday along the Little Blue River.

Authorities say the shoe was found about 10 miles downstream from where the skeletal remains of a human hand were discovered along the river last week. The Kansas City Star reports sheriff’s officers, a specially trained dog and others were searching the river’s banks Thursday for additional evidence.

It’s unclear if the hand and foot are related. The foot was taken to the county crime lab, and the hand was sent to the University of Texas for possible identification.

© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.