CLAIBORNE COUNTY, Miss.- A missing man’s body was believed to have been found hanging from a tree in Claiborne County Thursday.
Otis James Byrd, 54, had been missing for ten days. Byrd was last seen when a friend dropped him off at a casino in Vicksburg.
Claiborne County Sheriff Marvin Lucas said he won’t confirm if the body is that of Otis Byrd who was reported missing on March 2.
“We need the autopsy to determine who this person is, who he is and how he died,” Lucas said.
Family members said they believe it could be Byrd.
“The person might have been out there for two weeks, and I’m going to let you use your imagination,” Lucas told WAPT, “It has started to decompose.”
The NAACP has sent an email requesting the U.S. Department of Justice “join the current investigation of the suspicious hanging death of Mr. Otis Byrd.”
The FBI is currently investigating.
News Mississippi will continue to update you once we know more.
