BATON ROUGE — The Baton Rouge Police Department said a landfill search for the body of 15-year-old Ja'Derrius Minnieweather will continue as testing is done on human remains that were found during the search. 

Minnieweather was reported missing June 5. Nearly two weeks later, police arrested 51-year-old Maurice Parms and charged him with first-degree murder in connection with Minnieweather's death. Parms is accused of killing Minnieweather and putting his body in a garbage can.

In five weeks, law enforcement crews have combed through 4,000 tons of material in the East Baton Rouge Parish North Landfill while trying to find Minnieweather's body. 

During the press conference Tuesday, BRPD Chief TJ Morse said that human remains had been found during the search. 

"Evidence gives me hope that these remains belong to Ja'Derrius," he said. "Professionally, I am unable to make any speculations, but I remain very, very hopeful."

Morse said that while the remains are being tested to confirm a DNA match, crews searching the landfill will continue to comb through the trash. 

As of Tuesday, the team has put in 17,000 man-hours across 821 shifts. The chief said the search team has found more than 4,000 animal bones while processing the material. 

Mayor-President Sid Edwards said a priest visited the search site on Tuesday morning and sprinkled holy water on the area. He said the national success rate for landfill searches is less than 12 percent, but a photo of Ja'Derrius at the search site kept crews motivated.

"It was because of the determination and grit of these professionals that this baby, a son of Baton Rouge, will be brought home," Edwards said.

Crew members are required to wear full-body protective equipment, including a breathing apparatus, while searching the landfill in shifts. Since the search has started, Baton Rouge has seen many days with heat indexes well over 100 degrees.

"Very hot, nasty site," District Attorney Hillar Moore said. "Conditions were unbearable."

Moore added that if the remains are confirmed to belong to Minnieweather, it is his office's moment to step in. Parms is facing charges in Minnieweather's death and additional counts for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a teenager. 

While investigating the teen's disappearance, police found messages between Parms and a 16-year-old girl who knew Minnieweather. In the messages, Parms allegedly told the girl that he loved her and referred to the two as being in a relationship. 

Parms was arrested for indecent behavior with juveniles and computer-aided solicitation of a minor on June 10, which led to a search warrant being issued for his home. 

After the search, Parms was booked for first-degree murder. Additional BRPD documents said Parms and Minnieweather got into a fight on June 4 and Parms was seen badly beating a smaller person fitting Minnieweather's description for several minutes. 

Police said they found large, suspected bloodstains near where the altercation happened. Additionally, Parms was reportedly seen on surveillance footage dragging a garbage can to the road and getting rid of a child's bike that likely belonged to Minnieweather. 

On Friday, Parms was arrested for the third time in this case. He was booked for forcible rape, trafficking and indecent behavior with a juvenile, additional charges related to his alleged inappropriate relationship with the 16-year-old girl. In a second interview with law enforcement, she said Parms had previously raped her. 

Parms is being held without bond in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.