Search continues for identity of Mississippi River drowning victim

A spider's web is tattooed on the left upper arm of the drowning victim, found Wednesday, June 26, in the Mississippi River.

New Madrid County Sheriff's Department

NEW MADRID — The New Madrid County Sheriff’s Department has released photos of a drowning victim’s tattoos in hopes of identifying the man.

According to interim Sheriff Ronnie Adams, an autopsy was conducted Friday, June 28, on the body that was found floating in the Mississippi River on Wednesday, June 26, near Marsh Landing, approximately 8 miles east of Portageville.

“The autopsy concluded there was no external trauma or lethal trauma inflicted on John Doe prior to his death,” Adams said in a post on social media. “John Doe’s cause of death is considered undetermined, but foul play is not suspected.”

Located on the drowning victim's right arm between the right elbow and shoulder is a tattoo of an eagle.

New Madrid County Sheriff's Department

Investigators attempted to use a FastID fingerprint scanner to identify him but these attempts were unsuccessful, Adams said. Investigators are now using DNA sequencing to identify the John Doe, however, DNA sequencing is a time-consuming process.

The white male, believed to be in his 40s or 50s, has a tattoo of a spider’s web on his left upper arm, a tattoo of an eagle on his right arm between the elbow and shoulder and a tattoo of a serpent’s tail on his back extending from his waist line up to his left upper shoulder.

At about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday, the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a human body floating in the river, according to a social media post by the Department. The Pemiscot County Sheriff’s Department and New Madrid Fire Department launched their boats at Marsh Landing a short time later and began searching the area south of the ramp.

The tattoo of a "serpent's tail" is on the victim's back, extending from his waist line up to his left upper shoulder.

New Madrid County Sheriff's Department

At approximately 2 p.m. Wednesday, the body was located by a crew working on a dike approximately 1 mile south of the search area and deputies brought the body to the Missouri bank, the sheriff’s department said.

Anyone who knows the man’s identity or has any information related to this case may contact the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Department at (573) 748-2516.