HERNANDO – Another Mississippi fugitive has been found dead after running away from authorities. The body of 37-year-old Tracy L. Wooten was found in a field Tuesday by a DeSoto County deputy in rural Tate County.
Investigators were conducting a massive manhunt for Wooten who was wanted on several felony warrants including armed robbery and burglary of an occupied dwelling.
Authorities arrived at Wooten’s home in Hernando Monday, Dec. 5, to serve the warrants when he ran away on foot.
The Commercial Appeal said several agencies, including Southaven police, the Tate County sheriff’s department and the U.S. Marshal’s office were involved in the search.
At one point, 25 patrol cars were involved and several K-9 units.
After searching for six hours Monday night, authorities called off the foot search at 7:30 p.m. because of the 37-degree temperature and the rainy weather. But patrolmen continued to search the area overnight in their cars, Hackett said. Tuesday morning, Wooten was discovered in a field in Tate County, just across from the DeSoto County line, the Commercial Appeal reported.
“A DeSoto County deputy with binoculars spotted him laying in the field,” Hackett said. “He was told to wait for backup because the suspect may have been armed. There were no shots fired and no chase. This was a case where an individual fled when he was getting ready to be arrested on warrants.”
An autopsy has been ordered for Wooten.
On Nov. 1 in Flowood, the body of a convicted felon was found in Mirror Lake after he also ran from police. Authorities said the bizarre chain of events began around 9 p.m., that Monday night when officers pulled 35 year-old Patrick Jerome Liddell over for a routine traffic stop.
When officers searched the vehicle, a black Chevy pickup truck, at Lakeland Drive and River Oaks Drive, they allegedly found a loaded hand gun and eight rocks of crack cocaine. Officers also learned that Liddell was a convicted felon.
Liddell bolted from the car with officers chasing him about 200 to 300 yards on foot toward Mirror Lake.
Flowood Police Chief Johnny DeWitt said officers tried to talk Liddell out of the water, but he refused.
“He actually dove down several times and that appeared to be an attempt to swim away from officers, he went down and never surfaced again,” Chief DeWitt told WLBT.
Several dive and rescue teams were called in to assist, but after nearly two hours, it became a recovery mission.
Liddell’s body was found submerged under water about 20 – 25 yards from the bank, DeWitt said.
Liddell’s body was taken to UMC where he was pronounced dead. Authorities believe that Liddell drowned, but an autopsy was scheduled to determine his official cause of death.
Liddell’s case also remains under investigation.
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