WAYNE/CLARKE COUNTIES —
Local and state officials are continuing to search for information concerning the death of a Wayne County man previously reported missing.
Wayne County Sheriff John Farrior said the 35-year-old Wayne County man was last seen Thursday, Aug. 12 between 10:30 and 11 p.m. when he reportedly left Wayne County heading to the Gulf Coast for work with the oil spill clean up.
“We believe that a missing person, Joe Michael Ruffin, who was reported missing (Friday) by his wife, Catina, has been found dead,” Farrior announced Wednesday. “We had been looking for him, although the 72 hours for an adult had not passed.
“When he didn’t pick up his check, we figured there may have been a problem,” the sheriff said. “Then, last night, he turned up dead in his car near the Clarke/Jasper County line.”
Farrior said Ruffin appears to have been murdered.
“We are investigating it as a homicide,” the sheriff confirmed. “We believe foul play was involved.”
Farrior said Ruffin was found in his 2002 gray Cadillac Deville on Country Road 242 in Clarke County near the Jasper County line.
Officials said deputies from Clarke and Jasper counties responded to the scene around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night after someone notified officials that they had seen a vehicle in that area.
“His body was found inside the car,” the sheriff said. “Decomposition had set in. It appears that he had been there several days.”
Farrior said Ruffin, who lived at 286 Spink Hayes Road in Wayne County, was last seen between 10:30 and 11 p.m. Thursday in Waynesboro.
“He was suppose to be headed back to the Coast, but he never picked up his paycheck. So, we started investigating,” Farrior said. “Right now we are still trying to gather details.”
Calls to the Clarke County Sheriff’s Department and the Clarke County Coroner were not returned Wednesday.
Farrior confirmed that the body found in Clarke County was sent to the Mississippi Crime Lab in Jackson, where an autopsy was conducted.
The sheriff said preliminary findings show that “the cause of death was a gunshot.”
“We are actively working on this case as a homicide,” Farrior said. “We are working with all of the agencies – the Waynesboro Police Department, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Department, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations and the Mississippi Crime Lab. ... We are also asking the public for any information or help they can give.”
Anyone who may have information related to this case is asked to call the Waynesboro Police at 601- 735-3192, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department at 601-735-3801, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Department at 601-776-5252, or Crime Stoppers at (601) 735-LEAD (5323).
People can also submit information online by going to the Police Department’s Website at www.waynesboropolice.org and use the site’s “Submit a Tip” form.
Local News
Related Photos
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Joe Michael Ruffin Photo/Submitted
Missing man found dead
Ruffin’s death being investigated as a murder
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