Traffic stop leads to discovery of decapitated dead body, Mississippi police say

Published 10:53 am Friday, March 15, 2024

A traffic stop in Mississippi led to a grisly discovering when the driver told the police officer that he knew where a dead body was located.

Police in the Mississippi city of Natchez said one of their patrol officers pulled over a driver at approximately 8:30 p.m. Thursday night.

Natchez Police Commander Jerry Ford said the person driving the car told the officer they knew where a dead body could be found.

The person took the officer about 10 feet off of the roadway in the area between Fatherland Road and the turnoff to the First Lutheran Church.

The skeletal remains were mostly covered by leaves, Ford told The Natchez Democrat.

“The body was pretty much intact, other than the head was not attached,” Ford said.

Ford said the body has been sent to the State Crime Lab for an autopsy and possible identification.

He said the incident is being investigated.

“We hope the crime lab can tell us more about what happened to the person. Right now, it’s early on in the investigation. We are going to still have to search the area again,” Ford said.

How the driver knew of the whereabouts of the body were not clear.