Kudzu Helped Hide Missing Man’s Vehicle

The vehicle was not visible from the highway.

WATER VALLEY – An intense weekend search for a missing Coffeeville man and his red Volkswagen convertible ended Sunday around 2:30 p.m. after the vehicle was discovered on Hwy. 32 between Oakland and Water Valley. A deep gully and mounds of kudzu had obscured the vehicle, making it extremely difficult to spot from the air and ground for first responders and law enforcement officials from multiple counties who worked around the clock from Friday evening until the discovery.

Rev. Franklin Samples was found deceased inside the vehicle. Officials believe a medical issue led to the fatality.

“It appeared that he left the roadway without any marks,” Yalobusha County EMA Director Dalton Coleman explained.

Samples was last seen leaving a doctor’s clinic in Water Valley at 9:14 a.m. Friday morning. He was headed to Kroger in Batesville, and family members became concerned later in the day when he did not return home.

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https://www.yalnews.com/2021/09/22/kudzu-helped-hid…ing-mans-vehicle/