CLAIBORNE COUNTY, MS (Clarion-Ledger) -- Authorities are probing a hanging in Claiborne County, officials said.
FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Pack said the FBI and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are on the scene where a man's body was found hanging in the woods near Roddy Road.
It is unclear if the death is a homicide or a suicide, as Coroner J.W. Mallett would not release any details, stating the death is under investigation.
The Claiborne County Sheriff's Department and the Mississippi Wildlife Fisheries and Parks were conducting a ground search earlier Thursday for Otis Byrd, 54, who has been missing since March 2. That's when they found the body hanging about a half mile from his last known residence.
The sheriff's department contacted the FBI and MBI for forensic and investigative assistance, Pack said.
The last time Byrd was seen, a friend was dropping him off at the Riverwalk Casino in Vicksburg on March 2.
Byrd's family filed a missing persons report with the Claiborne County Sheriff's Department on March 8, and MBI received a missing report from the Claiborne County on March 13.
According to the Mississippi Department of Corrections, Byrd spent a little over 25 years in prison for the murder of Lucille Trimm in Claiborne County. Records show he robbed her of $101. He was convicted of capital murder on Feb. 8, 1980, and was paroled Nov. 2, 2006.
The NAACP was the first organization to release Byrd's identity. So far officials have not confirmed that the body hanging not far from Byrd's last home, which was found during a search for him, is Byrd. The NAACP wrote a letter asking the DOJ to get involved in the investigation.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is referring all calls to the FBI. The Mississippi Southern District of the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division are also assisting on the case.
Investigators are processing the scene now to determine the cause and manner of death.
