Kansas City, Mo. ? Kansas City Police announced Monday that they believe one person is responsible for the deaths of six people whose bodies were found in an 18-block area east of downtown.

Police Capt. Rich Lockhart would not say what led police to connect the bodies to a single killer, but the crimes have not been connected forensically. Authorities previously had said they thought the killings were related but were not necessarily the work of one person.

Lockhart said police were working with the FBI to develop a profile of the killer. So far, the main thing linking the bodies is where they were found: on vacant lots or near vacant houses or apartments in a neighborhood frequented by drug addicts and prostitutes. Five bodies were discovered since Thursday; the first body was found in July.

Lockhart said police were looking for similarities between the victims and the crime scenes. Police have not said how the victims died; autopsies were under way Monday. Also, few details have been released about the victims, four of whom have been identified. All four of those victims are women.

“Some were engaged in high-risk lifestyles,” Lockhart said when asked if they were engaged in criminal activities, but he did not elaborate.

The grisly investigation began Thursday when police responding to reports of a foul odor coming from the rear of a vacant residence found two badly decomposed bodies in a garage. The women have been identified as Patricia Wilson Butler, 45, and Sheliah McKinzie, 38. McKinzie, whose name was released Monday, is the latest victim to be identified.

A third body was found Friday behind a vacant house after someone called 911 and told police where to find it. Police believe the same caller told a 911 operator on Saturday where to find two more bodies. One of the bodies found Saturday evening was identified as Darci I. Williams, 25, of Kansas City.

Then, on Sunday, police announced that the death of 42-year-old Anna Ewing, whose remains were found in July by a man spraying for weeds, was connected to the five deaths.

Two bodies, which are in advanced stages of decomposition, have not been identified. Lockhart said police were combing missing persons reports for leads.

Police asked anyone with information to call (816) 784-9070.