‘I mean, it’s just unbelievable’: Body of man found in Presidential Hills creek identified

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A startling discovery came for a Presidential Hills homeowner after a dead man’s body was found in the creek.

Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart has identified the victim as 69-year-old DeLawrence West of Jackson.

It was just before 9:30 in the morning of Wednesday, February 12, when Jackson police officers converged on the area trying to find out who the man was and how he ended up in the water.

“That’s kinda scary,” said Barbara Gray. “It’s actually too close to home for me.”

The Jackson homeowner walked down the street to see the police tape and cars at the end of George Washington Drive behind a house in the 6700 block.

The four-year resident said there have been drive by shootings and vandalism, and she is thinking about moving.

“Oh my God. I mean, it’s just unbelievable, you know?” said Gray. “You hear about it all the time, but you just never think it’s just right down the street from you. So that is a scary situation that it is a body here."

He was found when the homeowner was in the backyard and saw something floating in the water.

“It does not appear, from what we’ve seen thus far, that there are any obvious signs of trauma to the body,” said JPD Sgt. Roderick Holmes. “At this point we don’t know how long the victim has been inside the creek, but it does not appear that it has been too many days."

The Dive Team with the Jackson Fire Department was called in to retrieve the body from the creek.

Officers canvassed the neighborhood trying to find out if anyone was missing from the area or if residents or saw or heard anything suspicious.

You’re asked to contact the Jackson Police Department if you have any information.

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