Curtis Vaugn had been reported missing earlier this week

The body of an Oxford man reported missing Tuesday was found alongside a rural Yalobusha County road Wednesday afternoon, the apparent victim of gunshot wounds. 

Curtis Vaughn, 32, had not been seen since 11 p.m. on Monday according to a press release sent out by the Oxford Police Department. Vaughn’s body was found by two men headed to a fishing spot and was not concealed. 

Vaughn’s body was found on County Road 214 in Yalobusha County near the Water Valley Municipal Airport. CR 214 loops to State Hwy. 315 near the Lafayette County line. 

Oxford PD , the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, and the Metro Narcotics Unit were called to assist in the investigation. Early reports said investigators theorized that Vaughn was killed in another location and his body left along the Yalobusha roadway.

“The body was about 30 feet from the center-line of the county road on the county right-of-way,” Yalobusha County Sheriff Jermaine Gooch told the North Mississippi Herald. “The location where the homicide occurred has not been determined,” 

The Water Valley newspaper also reported that the location where Vaughn’s body was found is not near the vicinity of another homicide that occurred earlier this month in the Holly Springs National Forest. Some media posts had caused confusion about the location of the two bodies, the sheriff said.

“We are tracking down leads, and I would also like to reach out to the public for assistance. We encourage anyone who may have information about this case to contact law enforcement,” Gooch.

Vaughn’s body has been sent for an autopsy and investigators are hoping to learn more about the circumstances of the shooting that killed him when those results are returned.

Anyone with information about the case, or who had contact with the victim before his disappearance should contact their local police department or Sheriff’s office. Yalobusha SO contact is 662-473-2722, Oxford PD is 662-232-2400, and the Lafayette SO is 662-234-6421.