Mississippi mayoral candidate found dead

Mississippi mayoral candidate Marco McMillian has been found dead and the case is being investigated as a homicide.

The body of the 34-year-old McMillian was found on the Mississippi River levee between Sherard and Rena Lara Wednesday around 10 a.m., reported the Associated Press. Authorities had been looking for the candidate since another man crashed his car into another vehicle on Tuesday.

According to the Clarion Ledger, a person of interest has been taken into custody. The sheriff's office did not provide his name, but other authorities have identified him as 22-year-old Lawrence Reed of Clarksdale. No charges have been filed.

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"I had just talked to him Monday of last week," said McMillian's friend Keomi Scott to Fox19. "We were all here, we were all rooting for him in the election for mayor and it's really hard."

"Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Marco McMillian, one of the 1st viable openly LGBT candidates in Mississippi," tweeted the Victory Fund, a national organization that supports gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender candidates, noted the Ledger.

McMillian's campaign spokesman Jarod Keith confirmed the candidate was openly gay, but said it had never come up during the campaign. He also said he was shocked by what had happened.

"We remember Marco as a bold and passionate public servant, whose faith informed every aspect of his life," Keith said in a statement. "Tragically, that life has been cut short."