PINE TWP, Mercer County — Investigators still don’t know the identity of a young female found buried in trash at a waste disposal site near the Mercer-Butler County line.

Workers at Tri-County Industries Inc. accidentally discovered the body Wednesday afternoon while loading trash into trucks at the company’s waste transfer station on TCI Park Drive in Pine Township, state police said.

The waste was destined for a landfill when it was unearthed about 3 p.m.

“The high-lift operator saw her body while reloading trash into the big trucks,” Sgt. Patrick Sarnese said this morning

The workers initially didn’t know what they had found.

“At first, they thought it was a mannequin,” said Jerry Bowser, general manager for Tri-County Industries.

An autopsy, which was to begin at 11 a.m. today in Erie, could provide investigators with more clues, including how the woman died.

Police said the body is that of a white female believed to be 16 to 25 years old. She was wearing black yoga pants, black tank top and white ankle socks with green trim. She also had pierced ears.

It appeared the woman had died recently, investigators said.

Trucks from parts of northwestern Pennsylvania, including Butler County, and eastern Ohio bring trash to the site, Bowser said.

Police immediately began culling reports of missing persons within the company’s service area.

Investigators plan to use fingerprinting, dental records and facial recognition software in an effort to identify the unknown female, Sarnese said.

“We’re scratching our heads pretty good over this one,” he said.