Samantha McCowan left work in Laurel, Mississippi around 1 a.m. on June 7, 2024. McCowan crashed her car, and witnesses saw her leaving the scene. The 32-year-old mom disappeared, but three days later, her body was found in the trunk of another vehicle at a nearby auto dealership, about 100 yards from where McCowan’s crash happened.
After an extensive search of the area, the Jones County Sheriff’s Department (JCSD) announced they found her body on June 10. An employee at the dealership happened to open the trunk and found McCowan inside. As suspicious as that seems, police said there were no signs of foul play, and McCowan’s autopsy seemingly confirmed those findings. How, then, did McCowan walk away from the crash, only to end up dead and in the trunk of a car a short distance away, with 50 people from multiple agencies on the case, not to mention many more people spreading the word on social media?
We may never know exactly what happened to McCowan the night she died, but based on available evidence, here’s one possible explanation for the tragedy.
Samantha McCowan hit her head
Samantha McCowan worked at Flynt’s Towing & Recovery. According to The Laurel Leader-Call, sources told them that McCowan hit her head before she left work that night. That head injury may have contributed to the wreck. Even if she hadn’t sustained further injuries in the crash, she could have been disoriented, and those same injuries may have led to her death. According to security camera footage, there was no one else in the area, but it’s unclear whether McCowan was seen getting into the trunk of the vehicle before she died.
As it stands, this seems the likeliest explanation for what happened, but as more information becomes available the bizarre timeline for the sad sequence of events may change. McCowan is survived by her parents, her three sisters, her “forever partner,” and her five children. “She was an incredible sister and the best aunt. She always had so much wisdom to share and advice to give. Her heart was full of love, and she shared it with anyone who allowed her to. She will truly be missed by many,” McCowan’s sister, Olivia Cannon, wrote on social media.
