Missing man found dead after search

Published 7:48 pm Sunday, October 8, 2017

A Vicksburg man reported missing Saturday morning was found dead Sunday evening at the Warren County and Issaquena County line.   

Seventy-two year old Eddie Brent was reported missing Saturday at 7 a.m. after last being seen at his home on Harris Street. Brent and his vehicle, a Chevrolet pickup truck, were found around 5 p.m. Sunday in the woods off the south side of the Yazoo Backwater Levee, Warren County sheriff Martin Pace said.

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“Some young people spotted the vehicle. It is well off of the road off of the Yazoo Backwater Levee between the Steele Bayou Structure and Highway 61,” Pace said. “We are right on the Warren/Issaquena line. The vehicle was nearly impossible to see from the road. The timing of the day and the light was just right that they could see it. It is off in the woods and some of the foliage that it ran over made it very difficult to see the vehicle.”

Vicksburg Police Department Lt. Joseph Shows said Brent was known to have dementia and medical problems and they were worried about him after he went missing Saturday.

“He normally frequents the casinos and he likes to go fishing a lot as well,” Shows said before Brent was found. “Normally when he goes to the casinos, and plays his money, he usually comes back home. This is an unusually extended stay from home.”

Pace said they have asked the state’s crime scene investigators to assist with the investigation due to the question of whether the scene of the accident is in Warren or Issaquena County but, he added, they don’t suspect foul play at this time.

“He had been reported missing prior to us finding the crashed vehicle,” Pace said for the main reason of not suspecting foul play. “We are also in a situation on this levee where it is not exactly clear whether we are in southern Issaquena or northern Warren County. There are no county line signs on the levee.”

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

“I am not going to release any speculation at this time, but the vehicle did run off of the backwater levee through a stand of trees and came to rest against a tree off of the south side of the backwater levee,” Pace said. “It is a tragic end. We all have been looking for him since the bulletin was put out earlier and this is just a tragic end to the search. Our prayers are with the family. We are working diligently with the state crime scene investigators to determine exactly what happened.”