Summary Body had "obvious signs" of decomposition, indicating it had been hanging there for more than a day
PORT GIBSON, Mississippi: (AP) - Federal and state authorities are investigating the hanging death of a black man in Mississippi who had been missing for more than two weeks, the FBI said Thursday.
The investigation involves the FBI, the Justice Department s Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney s office. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is also involved.
The man was last seen March 2 and was reported missing by his family days later, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Pack said in a statement. Pack says the cause of death has not been determined, and authorities aren t sure if it s a homicide or a suicide.
Jim Walker, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, told The Associated Press that the body was found by the department s officers while they were searching for 54-year-old Otis Byrd.
Walker said that about 25 minutes after the officers started the search, they found the body hanging in the woods about 200 yards (180 meters) from Byrd s house.
None of the authorities has positively identified the body that was found as Byrd s, however. Claiborne County Sheriff Marvin Lucas Sr. said a positive identification will not be available until the completion of an autopsy, which he said also should help determine whether the death was a homicide or a suicide. Lucas said the body has been sent to the state Crime Lab. He said the body was found hanging by a bedsheet.
Walker said the body had "obvious signs" of decomposition, indicating it had been hanging there for more than one day.
