Black man, 54, found hanging from tree in Mississippi and now the NAACP is asking death to be investigated as possible hate crime

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Body of African-American man found hanging from tree in Port Gibson, Mississippi, Thursday 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 25 years in prison for the murder of Lucille Trim, a white woman who he shot four times during an armed robbery

Published: 18:22 EST, 19 March 2015 | Updated: 07:52 EST, 20 March 2015

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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.

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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 don'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

Body of African-American man found hanging from tree

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.