LAPLACE — It could take a few weeks for authorities to positively identify the man found dead this weekend in a LaPlace waterway.

St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre said Louisiana State Police are using DNA testing to help ID a male found Saturday in the canal under Interstate 55 at milepost 2.2.

Police believe the victim may be Kerry James Keating, who was reported missing in late 2016. A cause of death has not been determined, and Tregre said the case would be treated as a homicide investigation until a manner of death is determined.

The body was discovered by a private company using sonar, Tregre said, adding Keating’s family hired the company.

The Sheriff’s Office initially asked for the public’s help locating Keating in early December after Keating was last heard from Nov. 27.

Keating’s Chevrolet Silverado was recovered Nov. 28 abandoned and blocking traffic at approximately 2 a.m. in the right lane of I-55 southbound at the 2.2 mile marker in LaPlace.

Tregre said authorities with Jefferson, St. John the Baptist and Ascension Parish are investigating Keating’s case.

Authorities ask anyone having any information on the case to contact the St. John Sheriff’s Office TIPS line at 985-359-TIPS or dispatch 985-652-6338.