BATON ROUGE - Workers are on their third week of combing through a section of the East Baton Rouge Parish North Landfill, searching for the body of a 15-year-old who was killed. 

During a Press Club lunch on Monday, District Attorney Hillar Moore said that the crew is using small rakes to search through the trash, which has been compacted by machines that add layers of dirt and more waste. 

Moore said that due to the heat, the team is only able to work for 45 minutes before taking a mandatory 1-hour and 45-minute break, during which both their blood pressure and temperature are checked before they start again. Full protective gear and a breathing apparatus add to the fight against the elements. 

"It's extremely slow, excruciating work," he said. 

Moore said that the team is dedicated to finding 15-year-old Ja'Derrius Minnieweather, who was reported missing June 6. Baton Rouge Police officers arrested Maurice Parms, 51, in his death. Investigators believe Parms killed Minnieweather and then put the teen's body into a dumpster. 

"Very difficult for a mother, grandmother to accept that their child has been killed and their body is in the landfill," Moore said. "I can't think of a worse situation to deal with."

Moore said that while the search has dragged into its third week, he does believe they will find Minnieweather's body. Despite his optimism, the district attorney said that the search is expensive, but it won't be his decision to call it off. 

"That's a call that somebody else will make," he said.