Ecru Man Drowns In Tippah County

RIPLEY, Miss. (AP) – Authorities say the body of 19-year-old Jay Shirley of Ecru has been recovered from Dumas Lake near Ripley in north Mississippi.

Shirley had gone missing Wednesday. His body was found Thursday morning.

Tippah County Sheriff Karl Gaillard says Shirley was crossing a narrow part of the lake with an 8-year-old child clinging to his back. Gaillard says witnesses told investigators Shirley passed the child off to another person. He then went underwater and did not resurface.

Authorities began a search Wednesday afternoon but had to call the search off as it grew dark.

The search resumed at 7 a.m. Thursday. Gaillard says Shirley’s body was discovered by a volunteer search canine 45 minutes later and close to the spot where he went under.