Brownsville: A family dog in Mission brought home a severed human hand Thursday, launching a search that turned up the body of a suspected unauthorized immigrant, police said.

Sgt. Jody Tittle said police were called to a residence around 8:25 a.m. on reports that the family's black Labrador retriever had the hand in its mouth.

Police searched with the assistance of Border Patrol search dogs for about 21/2 hours before coming upon the body of a man near a canal.

Tittle said the body appeared to have been there two to three weeks, and that the man's clothing had paperwork leading officials to believe he was an immigrant.

Tittle said police were reaching out to the Mexican consulate for help identifying the body.

The case was being treated as a homicide pending an autopsy, Tittle said.

He said the body was found along a rural route that led back about a mile to the Rio Grande.