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Authorities take advantage of low water levels to search for missing river victims
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Warren County authorities, Vicksburg police and Fish and Wildlife officers will be on the Mississippi River searching for human remains that have yet to be recovered.
On Friday, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace stated he and others would be taking advantage of the low water conditions to search for remains of those who have drowned in the river and hopefully find and recover the remains of two hunters who went missing in 2020.
Gunner Palmer, 16, from Copiah County and Zeb Hughes, 21, of Wesson, Mississippi, went out on a boat on Dec. 3, 2020, and were never heard from again.
In the initial search, Cajun Navy volunteers, MDWFP personnel, Warren County and Madison Parish deputies, and 28 members of the Central Mississippi Overland Search and Rescue Team, which is composed of police and firefighters from around the state, participated. Several people from the community gathered on land and in the river, along with a private aircraft and another plane from Madison Parish.
The day after their disappearance, the hunters’ boat was found capsized in the water near Middle Ground Island, adjacent to the Claiborne-Warren county line.
The search continued for over a month, but the hunters were never found.
Low water levels of the Mississippi River have created a new opportunity for authorities to revisit the river and access areas that were previously underwater.
On Friday, two Sheriff’s Department boats were launched to rendevous with cadaver dog teams at LeTourneau.
According to Sheriff Martin Pace, the teams will not only be looking for the missing hunters but others who have gone missing in the waters.
“There are several people that have drowned in the vicinity of the river bridges, south, whose bodies were never recovered,” stated Sheriff Pace.
Pace stated once the cadaver dogs are aboard, they will begin to search the banks and areas which were previously underwater.
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