Victim identified, person arrested in connection to body found inside box in Gulfport

One person was arrested after detectives descended on a Gulfport home Thursday for a missing person case and instead found a dead body, Gulfport Police Sgt. Jason Ducre said Friday morning.

Ducre did not release the name or charges that person faces because police say it would compromise the case. Those details will likely be announced Monday, Ducre said.

Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer identified the body Friday as John Gaither, 42, of Gulfport. A full autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

Gaither was first reported missing Dec. 22, Ducre confirmed.

But on Friday, his death was still shrouded in mysteries, like why his body was inside what police have called a wooden “makeshift box,” why the box was filled with junk and why police found it on the ground, as Switzer put it, “like a coffin.”

Police called the case a “suspicious death” on Thursday, and much remains unclear about how Gaither’s disappearance led police to his body on a quiet street of the Mississippi Coast.

What police have said is this: They were called to a home at 16th Avenue and 22nd Street in Gulfport about 10 a.m. Thursday to investigate the missing person case after detectives began to notice discrepancies in the story. “Some stuff just didn’t add up,” Ducre said Friday morning, so police searched Gaither’s house and found his body inside.

His body was covered in clothes and “junk” in a box that was so large police had to cut out part of a wall because it would not fit through the door, Switzer and Ducre said. They chose to not disturb evidence and brought the box and body to the crime lab together, Switzer said. Police also found several similar boxes around the home and under the carport, Ducre said.

Police had detained and questioned one person Thursday afternoon and made an arrest by Friday morning, Ducre said.

Detectives also finished combing through what Ducre called a “crime scene” by Friday morning.

This story was originally published January 19, 2024 at 11:43 AM.