Crew finds woman’s body on top of barge in Mississippi River, Tennessee deputies say
UPDATE: The woman’s body was identified as 22-year-old Hailey Silas, from Oklahoma, a Shelby County Sheriff’s Office public information officer told local media outlets.
The original story is below.
A woman’s body was found on top of a barge moving through the Mississippi River, Tennessee deputies said.
The barge’s crew discovered the woman’s body on the ship, a Shelby County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told McClatchy News in an email. They were inspecting the boat at the time, which led to the crew finding the body, deputies told WHBQ.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported the woman’s death to deputies around 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, according to the sheriff’s office on X, formerly known as Twitter. The sheriff’s office responded to the call, which was about 2 miles south of the Shelby Forest Boat Ramp near Memphis.
The identity of the woman is still unknown, the spokesperson said on Oct. 23, as the sheriff’s office awaits more information from the medical examiner’s office.
The length of time the woman’s body was on the barge, as well as whether foul play is suspected in her death, is still under investigation by the sheriff’s office, the spokesperson said.
This story was originally published October 23, 2023 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Crew finds woman’s body on top of barge in Mississippi River, Tennessee deputies say."
