Name: Joseph Edwards
Nickname/Alias: JoeEd
Case Classification: Missing
Missing Since: July 12, 1964
Location Last Seen: Vidalia, Concordia Parish, Louisiana
Date of Birth: 1939
Age: 25 years old
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Nickname/Alias: JoeEd
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Possible burn scars on body from prior accident.
Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Available
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Joseph "JoeEd" Edwards was last seen on July 12, 1964.
The mother of JoeEd Edwards reported him missing to the FBI in Natchez after her son's car was found a few days after his disappearance. The car was found on the street behind the old bowling alley on the Ferriday-Vidalia Highway.
Bloodstains were found inside the car and Edwards' mother told the FBI that "the Klan" was responsible for her son's disappearance.
Edwards was living with his grandparents in the Clayton area and was reported missing in Concordia Parish. He worked at the Shamrock Motel at the time of his disappearance. The Shamrock was a known KKK hangout at the time. The FBI was told by an informant that Joseph was skinned alive. Other sources say he was kidnapped, taken to Mississippi, tortured, and shot numerous times before his body was chained and thrown in the river. Joseph's disappearance is listed as a possible civil rights case.
Agency Name: FBI-Baton Rouge
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 225-291-5159
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: WHARBOM 44-2044
Agency Name: LSU FACES Lab
Agency Contact Person: Teresa Wilson, Assistant Directory
Agency Phone Number: 225-578-4761
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 357
NamUs Case Number: 4093
FACES Lab
NamUs
LSU Cold Case Project
Concordia Sentinel - Nov. 17, 2021
Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 06/23/2024 - By: hb
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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