Community leader found dead

OXFORD WEEKLY PLANET

Monday, March 6, 2023

Community leader found dead

Ambrose Garrett was found dead last night in the community center of the Whitehall neighborhood northwest of the Yoknpatawpha County Airport.

Garrett, 49, was the president of the Whitehall Homeowners' Association and reportedly had led an association meeting just hours before a neighbor discovered his body.

Officers responded to a 911 call placed around 10:00 p.m. Sunday by a friend of the Garrett family, who had gone to the community center looking for Garrett when he did not return home as expected following the meeting.

Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's spokesperson Elizabeth Jones declined to comment on the cause of death but said an autopsy is being conducted today. Pending the coroner's ruling, the sheriff's department is investigating the death as suspicious.

Garrett was a longtime insurance agent in Oxford and opened Garrett Insurance in 2001. He was active in local politics and was a prominent member of the Yoknapatawpha County Chamber of Commerce.

Garrett is survived by his wife of more than 20 years, Delilah Garrett, a neonatal nurse at Baptist Memorial Hospital. Calls to the Garrett residence were not returned Monday morning.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

By Kemper Jones at 9:40 AM