OXFORD – Authorities are investigating as a homicide the death of a man whose body was found in a Lafayette County creek on Sunday.

McKenzie Darrell Frierson, 27, of Oxford, had last been seen on Jan. 31. An autopsy on Monday confirmed his identity and that he did not die of natural causes.

The body was reportedly found by youngsters exploring the creek off Old Sardis Road west of Oxford. Lafayette County Coroner Rocky Kennedy, Lafayette County sheriff’s officers and members of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation recovered the body, and the scene was searched and documented for possible evidence.

Scott Mills, chief investigator for the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department, said that the cause of death is not being publicly released while the investigation continues.

Anyone with information concerning the disappearance and death of Frierson is encouraged to call the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department at (662) 234-6421 or Oxford-Lafayette County Crime Stoppers at (662) 234-TIPS (8477).

A $1,000 Crime Stopper reward is being offered, which Mills said is expected to increase in the near future, for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of Frierson’s killer(s).

Sheriff’s Investigator Alan Wilburn said Frierson’s death is the county’s first likely homicide since the January 2010 killing of Frank Bowie on College Hill Switch Road.

That death also remains under investigation.

errol.castens@journalinc.com