By William Moore
Daily Journal
HOLLY SPRINGS – More than three dozen law enforcement officers have descended on Marshall County after the bodies of two men were found Friday morning.
“It started around 7 a.m. when we found the body of a white male on Union Valley Road in the Marianna community in west Marshall County,” said Marshall County Sheriff Kenny Dickerson. “He had holes in his lower back, puncture wounds consistent with gun shots.
“He also appeared to have been run over by his own pickup.”
The man was later identified as Mark Hooper, 53, of the Lake Center area.
The sheriff’s office alerted neighboring agencies to be on the lookout for the green Ford pickup. The Holly Springs Police spotted the truck and gave chase. The black male driving the vehicle jumped out and ran away around 10 a.m. prompting a large man hunt which includes U.S. Marshals and K9 units from the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office.
An estimated 40 officers are involved in the manhunt that includes a helicopter.
“We towed the victims truck back to our office to process,” said Dickerson. “It appears he was hit and then dragged about 100 feet. There is blood on the hood and the undercarriage of the truck.
“And one of the tire prints on the body is consistent with the rear tire of the truck.”
While officers were hunting to the suspect, they found a second body about two miles away in a soybean field on South Mullins Road.
“We don’t have a clue who he is but the body had been there for a while because it was badly decomposed,” said Dickerson. “The body appeared to have several wounds in the back that looked like possible gunshots. We will know more once we get autopsies on both men.”
Dickerson estimated the second victim’s age range of 30-50, but noted that because of the level of decomposition, an accurate guess was impossible.
Anyone with information of the two homicides or the suspect is asked to call the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office at 662-252-1311.
william.moore@journalinc.com