An African-American man was found hanging from a tree in Claiborne County, Mississippi, on Thursday, according to a statement from the FBI. Local law enforcement officials found the man’s body in the woods near his home, the FBI said. The officials were conducting a search for the man who had been missing since early this month. The county sheriff said the man’s body was hanging from a bed sheet, according to WJTV’s Danielle Avitable. It is not yet known whether the man was killed or took his own life. Two investigations are now examining his death — one by local authorities and another by federal authorities to determine…
An African-American man was found hanging from a tree in Claiborne County, Mississippi, on Thursday, according to a statement from the FBI.
Local law enforcement officials found the man’s body in the woods near his home, the FBI said. The officials were conducting a search for the man who had been missing since early this month.
The county sheriff said the man’s body was hanging from a bed sheet, according to WJTV’s Danielle Avitable.
It is not yet known whether the man was killed or took his own life.
Two investigations are now examining his death — one by local authorities and another by federal authorities to determine whether there may be federal civil rights violations. The FBI, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi are all looking into the death, CNN reports.
“Earlier in the day, the Claiborne County Sheriffs Department and the Mississippi [Department of] Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks conducted a ground search for a man who had been missing since early March,” said a statement released by the FBI. “Officers located a man hanging in the woods near Roddy Road a half mile from his last known residence.”
The local NAACP chapter is suggesting that the dead man is 54-year-old Otis Byrd. However, law enforcement officials have not yet released any information on the man’s identity.
Byrd was last seen on March 2 after a friend dropped him off at a casino in nearby Vicksburg. Family members filed a missing persons report on March 8.
“The sheriff’s department contacted the MBI [Mississippi Bureau of Investigation] and FBI for forensic and investigative assistance,” the FBI said. “Investigators are currently processing the scene for evidence to determine the cause and manner of death.”
This is a developing story.
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