Found Deceased AL - Deyasmine Sheppard, 26, Eufaula, 24 Mar 2018

[FONT=&quot]Officials are continuing to gather evidence in hopes of tracing the missing man's steps, who could possibly be in harm's way.[/FONT]

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EUFAULA, Ala. (WTVY) - A man reported missing in March has been found dead.

Deyasmine Sheppard was last seen March 24th.

Investigators found his body in a shallow grave off Gammage Road outside Eufaula city limits.

Police arrested 24-year-old Jesse Maness for murder in connection with Sheppard's death.
A cause of death has not been released. An autopsy has been requested.
More arrests are expected.

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“Phone records led us out there,” said Eufaula Police Chief Steve Watkins of their search on Gammage Road near the middle fork of Cowikee Creek. “It was one of the last places the victim’s phone showed he was.”


With consent from the landowner, police scoured the area on foot and on four-wheeler Wednesday afternoon looking for signs of a body. They eventually located an area that “looked suspicious” and looked freshly dug where Sheppard’s body was uncovered.

“At that point, it was late, so we stopped what we were doing and called in SBI (State Bureau of Investigation),” said Watkins. “They have more experience exhuming bodies and the resources and tools we don’t have.”

SBI arrived Thursday morning to begin exhuming the body. Watkins said investigators were able to identify Sheppard’s body from personal recognition and tattoo markings on his body.

During the course of the investigation, police found evidence that Sheppard was the victim of foul play and developed Maness as a possible suspect. Watkins said they were waiting to locate the body to make an arrest.

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