Mississippi man found dead in Alabama was lured by cheap iPhone offer, family says
A missing man from Mississippi was found shot to death in Alabama last week in what family members suspect was a setup.
Michael Jones of Columbus was last seen May 20 after leaving to meet with a seller on the “Letgo” trading app to buy an iPhone 11, relatives told AL.com. Jones’ body was discovered two days later in an abandoned home in Bessemer, Alabama — more than 100 miles away.
“The bottom line, this was entrapment,’’ Martha Salone, the victim’s sister-in-law, told the news site. “This was Michael trusting. It’s like a wounded animal. He was all alone.”
Bessemer police found Jones’ truck on May 22, just after 3:30 p.m., according to local station WBRC-TV. A continued search led investigators to an abandoned home where they discovered the man’s body.
He’d been shot dead, authorities said.
Jones’ family filed a missing person’s report with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office when he disappeared after leaving work on May 20, WTVM reported. He was supposed to be headed home, authorities said, according to local station WBMA.
Relatives soon learned about his arrangement with the seller on Letgo and tried retracing his steps from Columbus to Bessemer, according to AL.com They said they believe the seller, who had initially arranged to meet Jones in Tuscaloosa, lowered the price to lure Jones to travel another 45 minutes to Bessemer.
“They went down on the price, made him come here and did what they wanted to do,” Jones’ brother-in-law Joshua Tatum told the news site. “If I had been with Michael, it wouldn’t have went down. I would’ve told him to turn around.”
Jones’ family said he enjoyed finding deals on trading apps such as Letgo, where users can buy and sell used items online.
Using cell phone location data, the app shows items for sale in the area and allows buyers and sellers to chat without exchanging personal contact information. As Business Insider explains: “You can negotiate price or find a time to meet in person, but you can’t use the app to send or receive money.”
For safer transactions, Letgo recommends meeting at “busy, public places” such as shopping malls, cafes and police stations, according to its website.
Jones’ family is demanding justice as authorities in Bessemer and Mississippi work to find who’s responsible.
“My prayer was let us find Michael to bring him back home,’’ Tatum told AL.com. “I wanted him alive, but we wanted to find his body. Now he’s headed back to Mississippi.”
Jones is survived by his wife and two adult children, according to the Associated Press.
An investigation into his death is ongoing, police said.