Jackson Free Press

Federal and state authorities are investigating the hanging death of a black man in Claiborne County who had been missing for more than two weeks, the FBI said Thursday.

Law enforcement officials have not identified the man, but the NAACP Mississippi State Conference believes the he is Otis Byrd and wants a full investigation into the cause of death.

"Mr. Byrd, who has been missing for over a week, was found hanging from a tree in a wooded area approximately four or five miles from his home. We are calling on federal authorities to immediately investigate the hanging death of Mr. Otis Byrd to determine whether or not his death is the result of a hate crime," said Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi NAACP said in press statement.

Currently, the investigation involves the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations, 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 on March 2, and his family reported him as missing days later, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Pack told the Associated Press in a statement. Pack said 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 department's officers found the body while they were searching for 54-year-old Otis Byrd of Port Gibson.

Walker said that about 25 minutes after the officers started the search, they found the body hanging in the woods about 200 yards from Byrd's house.

None of the authorities has positively identified it 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 in Jackson.

He said it was found hanging by a bed sheet, and Walker said it had "obvious signs" of decomposition, indicating that the body had been hanging there for more than one day.

Johnie Baker, 87, owns the land where the body was found.

Baker, who did not accompany authorities on the search, described the land as an area of pecan and black walnut trees, frequented by hunters and home to several wild hogs.