GEORGETOWN – A body found March 23 in the Pearl River in CopiahCounty has been positively identified through DNA samples as aJackson man missing since early March, officials said.

Copiah County Coroner Ellis Stuart said Sherrell Hogan, 26,whose last known address is 224 Sollitt St., Jackson, was last seenMarch 6 by family members and was reported to Jackson PoliceDepartment as a missing person.

Hogan’s body turned up in the Pearl River by a fisherman whofound him floating just north of Highway 28 in Georgetown.

When Hogan was pulled from the river, Stuart said dental recordsdid not seem to match any missing persons that had been, so DNAsamples were being sent away to a lab in Reno, Nev., for analysis.The DNA match, which officials thought could be as long as two orthree weeks before their return, came back much faster thanofficials had anticipated, Stuart said.

Jackson Police Detective Crystal Tillman said it’s not clearwhat Hogan was doing in his last hours.

“It’s kind of up in the air, they’re thinking he could have beenwith some friends or cousins but no one really knows,” shesaid.

Stuart said the autopsy shows that Hogan died of a gunshot woundto the chest. Officials have said it’s hard to tell how long hemight have been in the water or how far he might have floated.

“It’s undetermined as to how long he was in the river, but itwas apparently since the night of the 6th or the morning of the7th,” Stuart said.

Jackson Police Detective Sgt. Eric Smith said the investigationwill be headed up by the Copiah County Sheriff’s Department sinceHogan’s body was found in Copiah County. No one from their officewas available for comment.