Authorities capture murder suspect, identify MS Coast victim after Harrison County manhunt

Harrison County authorities captured a murder suspect Wednesday evening who police said was on the loose after he fled from a car with a dead woman inside.

Bricen Rivers, 23, of Saucier is a suspect in the homicide, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office said.

Harrison County coroner Brian Switzer identified the victim as Lauren Johansen, 22, of Gulfport.

Authorities responded about 3 p.m. Wednesday to the Wolf River Cemetery for a welfare check on a missing person case that originated in Hattiesburg, according to a news release.

Johansen attended school in Hattiesburg, Switzer said, and was reported missing on Tuesday.

Rivers fled from a car into the woods when police arrived on the scene, authorities said.

Deputies checked the SUV and found Johansen in the back of a vehicle wrapped in a sheet, Switzer said.

Her cause of death is not clear. Switzer said an autopsy is scheduled next week.

Rivers led Coast authorities on a manhunt for hours until he was captured in the woods. The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office described him as 6 feet tall, 160 pounds with a shaved head and light beard last seen wearing a white shirt and black shorts.

Law enforcement from Biloxi, Gulfport, D’Iberville, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the Hancock Sheriff’s Department and Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries assisted the search. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said Harrison County asked his department for K9 assistance in the area of Highway 53.

Authorities searched the woods surrounding the rural cemetery for hours and booked Rivers about 1 a.m. Thursday into the Harrison County jail. He is charged with murder and is held on a $1 million bond.

Police ask anyone with information about the case to contact the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office at 228-897-1399.