A woman being held in the Issaquena County Jail on charges of prescription forgery in Vicksburg apparently killed herself by hanging Thursday, authorities said.

Sarah Joe Payne, 34, 2807 Drummond St., knotted her own shirt to make a noose and was discovered by fellow inmates returning to their cells from a jail sitting area around 7:15 p.m, Issaquena County Sheriff Richard Jones said.

He said foul play is not suspected, but an investigation is continuing. Payne’s body was sent to the Mississippi Crime Lab in Jackson and an autopsy is expected to be performed today, said Issaquena County Coroner Angela Williams.

Jones said one inmate attempted to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

“My heart goes out to the family,” Jones said.

Payne spent most of Wednesday night in a holding cell at the police department and arrived at the jail between 3 and 4 a.m. Thursday, after being arrested Wednesday afternoon and accused of prescription forgery at Walgreens pharmacy at 3341 Halls Ferry Road.

Detainees of Vicksburg police are commonly transferred to Issaquena County Jail due to overcrowding at the Warren County Jail in Vicksburg. Payne was being held on a $5,000 bond.

Vicksburg Police Lt. Bobby Stewart said there was nothing unusual about Payne’s demeanor at the time of her arrest or initial booking.

“Nothing at all” out of the ordinary, Stewart said this morning. “She was cooperative the whole time. We didn’t have any problems with her.”

District Attorney Ricky Smith said his office had no record of Payne on file. Stewart said she had been arrested on a misdemeanor charge for an outstanding fine in 2005, but otherwise had no history with local police either.

Almost exactly a year ago, another inmate died. On Aug. 18, 2008, a Vicksburg man set to go to trial on a murder charge died at River Region Medical Center after being transferred from the Issaquena County Jail, where he had been held for nearly three months. Solomon “Dewey” Harris, 44, had been taken to the hospital a week before his death, which an autopsy found to be caused by a rare skin disease, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, commonly resulting from a drug reaction. Jones said at that time jail personnel had not given any medication to Harris, but added he was told Harris had gotten medication from another inmate.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com

Contact Tish Butts at tbutts@vicksburgpost.com