Leake County Sheriff's Office Organized Hunt for Missing Man

When a man from Leake County was reported missing, the Leake County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the scene.

On Friday, September 20, 2024, officers reported to 127 Ott Jones Road and were notified that the missing man's wife, Mrs. Shirley Ferguson, had found her way out of the woods near their home. She reported that they went into the woods Thursday around noon and found that they were lost.

According to a press release from Leake County Sheriff's Office, the couple spent the night in the woods upon becoming lost, and she had left her husband, Mr. Doyle Ferguson, in the woods. Mrs. Ferguson left him by a tree while she went to search for assistance and water for her husband. When she went to return to her husband, she was unable to find her way back to him.

The Sheriff was notified of the missing man, and called for drones and reinforcements to aid in the search for Mr. Ferguson. He called Winston County Sheriff's Office, various Leake County volunteer fire departments, Leake County emergency management personel Tommy Malone and Rhonda Blanton, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.

Leake County Search for Missing ManPhoto byLeake County Sheriff's Office

On Saturday afternoon, September 21, after 48 hours in the woods, Mr. Ferguson was found and transported for medical treatment at Leake Baptist Emergency Department. Mr. Ferguson was found to have only minor medical needs.