NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Thursday, March 19, 2015, 4:45 PM
Updated: Thursday, March 19, 2015, 7:00 PM
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MISSISSPPI DEPT OF CORRECTIONSThe NAACP has reportedly identified the body as Otis James Byrd, 54, who was last seen on March 2.
The body of a missing African American man was found hanging from a tree in Mississippi during a ground search Thursday, authorities said.
The remains were discovered in woods a half mile from the man's last known residence in Claiborne County, about 60 miles southwest of Jackson, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Pack told the Daily News.
The NAACP's local branch identified the missing man as 54-year-old Otis James Byrd who vanished nearly three weeks ago, MSNewsNow reported.
He was last seen when a friend dropped him off a Vicksburg’s Riverwalk Casino, approximately 30 miles north of where the body was found.
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The body was found during a search near these woods Thursday. It's a half mile from the man's last known residence.
"After several days of missing, [he] was found hanged to death," the NAACP stated in an email sent to the Department of Justice and obtained by the news site. They asked that the federal government "join the current investigation of the suspicious hanging death of Mr. Otis Byrd."
In an email to the News, Pack did not say whether foul play is suspected at this time or confirm the man's identity as Otis Byrd. He said the man found Thursday had been missing since March 2, the same date Byrd was reported missing.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, the FBI and Claiborne County Sheriff department are collaborating in the investigation, he said.
WLBTRecords show Byrd served a little more than 25 years in prison for murder. He was paroled in 2006.
According to the state's department of corrections, Byrd served a little more than 25 years in prison for the murder of Lucille Trimm in Claiborne County after a 1980 conviction.
Records show he robbed the woman of $101. He was paroled on Nov. 2, 2006.
The coroner, reached by the News, said they are awaiting the results of local and federal officials' investigation before releasing or confirming the man's identity.
