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2 arrested in Mississippi in connection with El Paso County missing persons investigation

Homicide investigation underway after body of missing man found

Two people wanted for questioning connected to a death in Park County and a missing person from El Paso County have been found.

Law enforcement in Picayune, Miss., with the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office and the Picayune Police Department found and arrested Johnny Morris, 46, and Hailey Cole, 43, early Monday morning.

According to the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office, the agency received a call Monday morning that a man matching the description of Morris tried to break into a vehicle around 8:15 a.m.

Johnny Morris detained (Courtesy of the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department) (Courtesy of the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department)
Johnny Morris detained (Courtesy of the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department) (Courtesy of the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department)

Deputies and officers from the Picayune Police Department responded and began searching the area. At about 9 a.m. Morris and Cole were found camping in a shed, and taken into custody at the Pearl River County jail. Both had outstanding Mississippi warrants from the Mississippi Department of Corrections for failure to appear, as well as other Mississippi-based charges of receiving stolen property contempt of court-failure to appear.

Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office investigations at the scene of Morris and Cole’s capture led to Pearl River County charges of commercial burglary and attempted residential burglary.

A third person, Stephen Walker, 37, who went missing at the same time as Morris on Dec. 19, remains missing.

Hailey Cole detained. (Courtesy of the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department)
Hailey Cole detained. (Courtesy of the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department)

Law enforcement had been seeking a blue Ford F-150 that Morris and Cole were believed to be driving. That vehicle was found Saturday in Hattiesburg, Miss.

From left, Stephen Walker, Johnny Rankin Morris and Hailey Cole (Courtesy of EPCSO)
From left, Stephen Walker, Johnny Rankin Morris and Hailey Cole (Courtesy of EPCSO)

The Colorado investigation discovered both Morris and Cole had familial ties to Pearl River County. Law enforcement is asking anyone with information about the case to call 719-390-5555 or 911.

A bloody mystery

During a call for service on Dec. 19, deputies found large quantities of blood throughout a house in the 1800 block of Pima Drive in Cimarron Hills, in unincorporated El Paso County.

Deputies said two men associated with the house were Morris and Stephen Walker, 37, who had also gone missing.

While Morris has now been found, Walker remains missing. He is described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds and has black hair, brown eyes and tattoos on his right arm. His family has asked through social media for anyone with any information about his whereabouts or well-being to contact authorities.

The case became a death investigation on Dec. 24 when a “check the welfare” call came into the Park County Sheriff’s Office and deputies responded to a residence in the 1500 block of Campfire Road in unincorporated Park County.

Deputies from the Park County Sheriff’s Office patrol unit searched the residence and discovered a deceased man, later identified as 65-year-old Timmy L. Huston. Public records indicate that Cole and Huston were both listed as residents of the same residence.

Law enforcement then announced they were seeking Morris and Cole, and to consider them “armed and dangerous.”


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