The FBI is investigating the death of a black man in Mississippi , who was found hanging from a tree Thursday morning . The victim has been identified as Otis James Byrd , 54 , who went missing on March 2 after his friend dropped him off at a casino in Vicksburg , 30 miles north from where his body was discovered . His family reported him missing on March 8 . The NAACP was the first to identify Byrd . Officials have not yet confirmed the victim 's identity , but local authorities were searching for the missing man when they found the body . If the death is ruled a murder , the NAACP 's concerns are that is has echoes of a lynching . Byrd was convicted of murder in 1980 , but was then paroled in 2006 . He shot dead a white woman named Lucille Trim as he carried out an armed robbery . Scroll down for video . What happened ? Otis James Byrd , 54 ( pictured left and right ) , was found hanging from a tree in Mississippi after he went missing March 2 . Local , state and federal investigators are combing the scene off Old Rodney Road to determine the cause of death . He was found about 200 yards from his home . 'We do n't know right now . All I can say is what I told you : It 's under investigation , ' Coroner J.W . Mallett said . Jim Walker , spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife , Fisheries and Parks said the body had 'obvious signs ' of decay , suggesting it had been hanging there for at least a day . Mystery : Above , a hearse is seen parked near the scene of the hanging on Thursday . Investigators are trying to determine whether Byrd 's death was a homicide or suicide . Without a trace : The body was found in a wooded area near Old Rodney Road in Port Gibson , Mississippi about 200 yards from his home . The last time he was seen , a friend was dropping him off at a casino in Vicksburg . Dark past : Above , Byrd 's parole board mugshot . He was released from prison in 2006 after spending 25 years in prison for a murder conviction . The owner of the land , 87-year-old Johnie Baker , said that the area where Byrd 's body was found is covered in pecan and black walnut trees . He added that hunters sometimes hunt in the area and that there are also wild boars on the land . So far , authorities say it 's too early to determine whether the victim 's death was a homicide or a suicide . However , the NAACP is petitioning to have the U.S. Department of Justice involved in the investigation , fearing Byrd 's death may have been a hate crime . The Claiborne County Sheriff 's Department and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are also involved in the investigation . Lynching was a common form of 'mob justice ' in the late 19th century , particularly in the south . A report by the Equal Justice Initiative claims there were nearly 4,000 lynchings of African Americans in the Jim Crow era across 12 states of the US . Byrd spent 25 years in prison for the murder of Lucille Trim , the Clarion-Ledger reported according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections . He allegedly robbed Trimm of $ 101 and then killed her . He was convicted of capital murder in February 1980 and then was paroled in November 2006 . Trim is the mother of Martha Ranville , who was the first woman in the history of the National Guard to serve as State Adjuntant General . She became the Adjutant General in Vermony in 1997 and currently lives in Virginia with her husband , the Hon . Paul McHale . McHale is a former Pennsylvania congressman and assistant secretary of defense .
Body of African-American man found hanging from tree in Port Gibson , Mississippi , 25 years morning . The NAACP has identified the man as 54-year-old Otis James Byrd , who has been missing since March 2 . Authorities have not officially identified the victim and say they are not sure yet whether death was a homicide or suicide . The last time Byrd was seen , a friend was dropping him off at a casino in Vicksburg , Mississippi - about 30 miles north . Death has similarities to a lynching . He spent Thursday in prison for the murder of Lucille Trim , a white woman who he shot four times during an armed robbery .