Openly gay mayoral candidate Marco McMillian was found dead near a Mississippi River levee.

Authorities had been searching for McMillian since his SUV had been crashed into another vehicle on U.S. highway 49. McMillian was not in the car.

His death is being investigated as a homicide, and resident of Clarkdale – the town in which McMillian was running for office – are stunned.

McMillian was the first openly gay person to be a viable candidate for public office in the state.

From the Huffington Post:

McMillian, who was black, had also forged ties while serving for four years as international executive director of the historically black Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. Photos on McMillian’s website and Facebook page show him with a younger Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and with U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat.

Coahoma County Coroner Scotty Meredith said McMillian’s body was found Wednesday morning near the levee between Sherard and Rena Lara. It was sent to Jackson for an autopsy.

…

The sheriff’s office said Wednesday that a person of interest was in custody, but had not been formally charged.

Read more at HuffingtonPost.com

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