On the afternoon of October 3rd, ranger Merrick Moody came upon a person wearing a hooded winter parka lying in the back seat of a vehicle park near the Nature’s Way trailhead in the Davis Bayou area. The fact that the man was wearing a winter parka on such a warm day appeared suspicious. When Moody approached the car, he found that the parka was covered with blood, that blood was issuing from the man’s nose, and that he was unresponsive. Moody immediately called for assistance from local police and EMS. The man was taken to Ocean Springs Hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition. A joint investigation by the park and Ocean Springs PD led to the discovery that the man had been assaulted by two people outside the park in the town of Ocean Springs and that the attack had been over a 15-year-old girl. After he was assaulted, the man was placed in the back seat of his car, driven into the park by one of his assailants, and left on the side of the road. The two assailants have been arrested.
