Authorities investigating after bodies of woman, child found in Sumter County river

An investigation was recently launched after the bodies of a woman and a child were found dead in the Tombigbee River in Sumter County. 

According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) their State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) began an investigation when Shardee McGill, 32, and her child were reported missing. 

They were believed to have last been in Jackson, MS. on Sept. 21 based on information by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI). McGill’s 2017 Chevrolet Equinox was later found in the Epes Community in Sumter County on Sept. 23.

ALEA worked with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, the Jackson Police Department in Miss., MBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Jackson, Miss., Field Office and Birmingham, Ala., Field Office to conduct a search of the two. 

However, on Sept. 25 the body of an adult female was found in the Tombigbee River along with the body of a child on the following day. 

A statement from ALEA said that the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences is working to confirm the identification of the bodies. 

No other details were made available as ALEA continues the investigation.