Body Recovered
Human remains discovered June 18 in the Mile Creek watershed were positively identified July 29 as those of Darryl Wright, 40, of Minden.
The Webster Parish Coroner’s Office notified Minden Police Chief T.C. Bloxom that DNA testing positively matched DNA retrieved from Wright’s personal belongings to DNA extracted from the human remains.
“The body has been identified and the case is closed after hours upon hours of investigation,” said Bloxom. “We believe Wright’s death was accidental — there was no trauma to the remains.”
The badly decomposed remains of the deceased were discovered by three youngsters fishing in the area.
The children initially discovered a leg and foot floating along the bank of the creek approximately 300 yards from the Shreveport Road bridge. Authorities were contacted and a subsequent search of the stream revealed a larger portion of the badly decomposed body upstream, draped across an elevated pipeline 24 yards south of the Shreveport Road bridge.
Following the discovery of the body, Minden detectives assembled a list of approximately 30 nomadic individuals.
Wright was declared a “person of interest” in connection to the case after all but he had been accounted for.
“Interest in Wright was compounded by the fact that he was last seen in the area where the body was discovered,” said Bloxom. ”At 10:42 p.m. on May 25, a Louisiana State Police trooper observed a driver of a vehicle conduct a traffic violation while traveling on West Street. The trooper initiated a traffic stop, with the vehicle coming to a halt near the West Street/Shreveport Road junction.