Forrest Co. deputy coroner rules no foul play in missing Hub City man’s death

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - The Hattiesburg Police Department has provided an update on the ongoing death investigation of a Hub City man whose body was found after recently being reported missing.

HPD says that according to Forrest County Deputy Coroner Lisa Klem, through a preliminary autopsy report done on 50-year-old Johnnie Bennett, no foul play was shown in his death.

Final results are pending a toxicology report.

On Tuesday, Nov. 22, HPD reported Bennett missing. The police department said Bennett was last seen leaving Merit Health Wesley on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, when he was on his way to work after being there with a family member.

WDAM 7 recently spoke with Bennett’s family when they held a rally on the same day he went missing, pleading for help in trying to locate him.

This past Sunday, HPD was notified of a deceased person off Lakeview Road around 3 p.m., which prompted a death investigation.

As the investigation went on, it was determined that the body found was Bennett’s. At the time, Klem said Bennett’s body was going to be sent to the Mississippi State Crime Lab to determine the cause of death.

HPD spokesman Ryan Moore says no other information is available at this time, due to there being no criminal element of the death.

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