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By Lanell Smith
The Lowndes Signal

Multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating an abandoned car found Sunday afternoon on Lowndes County Road 26 in Hayneville that officers believe is linked to the bodies of two murdered men in Tuscaloosa County.

Lowndes County Sheriff Chris West confirmed the vehicle is related to the Tuscaloosa murders, but despite social media rumors said there was no body or skull discovered in the vehicle.

“We haven’t issued any statements,” West said. “There is an investigation going on and multiple jurisdictions are involved. No further information is available at this time.”

In a press conference, Captain Jack Kennedy, commander of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit told media the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s office received a call around 6:15 a.m. reporting suspicious activity on Interstate 59 eastbound near mile marker 62.

At approximately 6:27 a.m. Sunday morning, Alabama Law Enforcement Troopers responded to a single-vehicle crash involving a commercial vehicle in the northbound lanes of Interstate 59 between the 52 and 62 mile markers, closing the road and diverting traffic at U.S. Highway 11, Exit 52.

“It was originally reported as a crash,” said ALEA Corporal Reginal King.

Kennedy said a truck driver believed he had struck someone on the interstate.

A second call 45 minutes later, around 6:55 a.m., reported a body laying just off the roadway on Frog Ridge Road in Fosters, three to four miles from where the first body was found.

“Whether or not [the murders] are connected or not, we’re operating under that presumption, but we don’t have the evidence right now to say that with certainty,” Kennedy said. “Right now, [the bodies] appear to be two black males.”

Kennedy said “We do have some active leads that we’re working on right now,” but would not elaborate on what those leads were, but did say authorities were looking for information on a white sedan or white car around Frog Ridge Road and Highway 11 early Sunday morning.

He requested any persons who may have witnessed incidents related to the investigation to contact his office at (205) 464-8690.