Columbus Police spent Saturday morning scouring the banks of Luxapalila Creek, gathering evidence on the apparent homicide of a 34-year-old Columbus man.
Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant said a fisherman stumbled upon the body of Alfonso Lathan Jr. around 10:15 a.m. Saturday near the boat landing at the Luxapalila Creek Recreation Area off Highway 69. Lathan appeared to have been shot, and a trail of evidence led from the bathrooms to the river bank.
A homicide investigation is currently under way, and an autopsy will be conducted by the state crime lab in Jackson Tuesday.
As of Saturday afternoon, funeral arrangements had not yet been finalized.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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