Two people of interest in possible Colorado homicide arrested in South MS, authorities say

Two people police say may be connected to a missing person’s case and possible homicide in Colorado were arrested Monday in South Mississippi, the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department said.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado said it began investigating when deputies were called Dec. 19 to a home in an unincorporated area and saw blood on the floor. Authorities said they responded to a welfare check related to the case days later near Hartsel, Colorado, and found a man dead inside a home.

Authorities are calling the case a possible homicide and said they were searching for two people of interest: Johnny Rankin Morris, 46, and Hailey Diane Cole, 43.

Both were arrested Monday in Pearl River County.

The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office said it got a call at 8:15 a.m. that a man who matched Morris’ description was trying to break into a car. Picayune Police Department officers began searching the area, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Authorities found Morris and Cole camping in a shed at 9 a.m. and took them into custody “without incident,” the news release said.

Morris and Cole will be booked Pearl River County jail on outstanding warrants from the Mississippi Department of Corrections for failure to appear and receiving stolen property across Lamar County and Wiggins, according to the news release. They are also facing charges of commercial burglary and attempted residential burglary in Pearl River County.

Police are still searching for Stephen Walker, 37, who they said is missing under suspicious circumstances related to the Dec. 19 incident. Authorities described Walker as 5 foot 11 inches and 160 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and tattoos on his right arm. Friends of Walker told local media in Colorado he was housemates with Morris at a sober living home.

Authorities had been looking for a blue 1994 Ford F-150 pickup truck they said could be headed to Mississippi. The Lamar County Sherriff’s Office said on Saturday it recovered the truck in a parking lot and video footage showed Morris and Cole walking toward Hattiesburg.

The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office said Morris and Cole have “familial ties” to Pearl River County.

This story was originally published December 30, 2024 at 10:19 AM.