WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: Mark Ginn's SUV Found with Body Inside

Mark Ginn's SUV Found with Body Inside

By Julie Straw
julie@wlbt.net

The SUV belonging to a missing Byram man was discovered Sunday with a body inside. The 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee belongs to Mark Ginn, 52, who has been missing for more than a month.

After 34 days with no sign of Ginn or his vehicle, the Hinds County Sheriff's Department received a surprising phone call. Two people had found Ginn's SUV in a heavily wooded area on private property near the intersection of Johnson Line and Cox Ferry roads. That's in rural Hinds County, 11 miles west of Flora.  

A body was inside the vehicle, and sources tell WLBT it was dressed in the same type of clothing that Ginn was last seen wearing. The sheriff's department can not confirm if it is Ginn until a medical pathologist identifies the body.

The Jeep was found less than 20 miles away from where Ginn was last seen driving in Clinton.  He had undergone open heart surgery two weeks before his disappearance. Those close to Ginn feared it may have been a factor.

"When you have surgery -- I never had it -- I hear there's problems with that sometimes," said Ginn's friend Val Moore in an interview on April 21. "There's depression and things that go on with people, but Mark was prefectly normal on the morning he left."

Sources tell WLBT Ginn was spotted at a local Home Depot buying a hose and duct tape, leading some to believe he planned to take his own life. Our newsroom also received calls and emails reporting Ginn had travelled as far away as Barbados, but the sheriff's department said the reports were just rumors and continued their search.

"It's uncharachteristic for him to do this," said Sheriff Malcolm McMillin on April 21. "It would naturally be an unusual occurrence, and that would give us cause for concern."

The FBI became involved in the investigation, focusing on suspicious activity at BankPlus in Byram, where Ginn worked as a bank executive. Then this week, WLBT learned a Jackson business owner Warren Logan of Graves Auto Electric may have been a victim of some fraudulent loan activity at the hands of Ginn.

A member of the Hinds County Sheriff's Department, who did not want to be identified, confirmed there is an investigation into suspicious loan activity at BankPlus. 

Meanwhile, sheriff's department spokesman Steve Pickett says the sheriff's office is only looking into a missing persons case -- a case that may be solved.

McMillin issued this statement on Sunday: "Out of respect for the family who has agonized for more than a month, we will not make any further public statement.  My prayers are with Mrs. Ginn and her three children."