AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT/Gray News) — The remains of a 4-year-old girl were dissolved with chemicals by her parents and “poured” into a South Carolina lake, Aiken County Sheriff Marty Sawyer said.

While some of Javeayah Harris’ remains were found, the sheriff said it is unlikely that authorities will ever be able to recover all of her remains.

Sawyer said Thursday that an investigation found the girl’s parents, Michilae Herring and Johnmarea Harris, allegedly used “corrosive chemicals and other tools” to dissolve her body.

According to Sawyer, the two then poured what was left of her remains into the Cedar Creek Reservoir in Fairfield County, where he said some of them were recovered.

DNA analysis found that the recovered remains were consistent with those of the biological offspring of Herring and Harris.

“In my 37 years in law enforcement, I have never, ever heard of anything so horrific,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer said he was “truly sickened” by what the investigation has uncovered and called the parents’ actions “repulsive and revolting.”

It is believed Javeayah was dead for about a month before Herring called 911 to report her disappearance on June 30. Herring told dispatchers her daughter had been playing outside and vanished.

The parents were only able to stick to their story about Javeayah’s disappearance for a short time before they confessed to her death, arrest warrants showed.

Authorities allege Javeayah died after a head injury that was caused by abuse by her mother. The girl was not taken to a doctor for treatment, which led to her death.