LAKE CHARLES, La. - A Natchitoches man wanted for a murder back in January was captured in Lake Charles following a six-month manhunt.
Natchitoches Parish Sheriff Stuart Wright said Kendrick Cox, 30, was wanted in connection with the murder of Joshua Humphries of LaSalle Parish.
Detectives said Cox was captured after an unidentified man picked him up in a vehicle at an apartment complex. Cox ran from the vehicle as police tried to make a traffic stop. He was taken into custody a short distance away.
Cox was transported to Lake Charles Police Department for processing and will be booked into jail with a hold from Natchitoches Parish for first-degree murder.
Cox had been on the run since January when Natchitoches sheriff's deputies began a missing person investigation that led to a homicide. Humphries, 35, was reported missing on Jan. 13 by his family. His vehicle was found abandoned in Natchitoches just prior to him being reported missing.
His disappearance became the subject of a multi-agency investigation that led to his body being found on Feb. 2 in an oxidation pond at the rear of Payne subdivision in Natchitoches. Humphries' body had been in the water for several days.
The case was ruled a homicide; however, detectives are still not releasing the cause of death due to the sensitivity of the investigation.
The investigation led to the arrest of James E. Morrow Jr., 30, of Natchitoches, who has been indicted by a Natchitoches Grand Jury for second-degree murder in Humphries' death.
Cox will be returned to Natchitoches Parish to face prosecution. He also has pending charges in Calcasieu Parish.
Detectives say the investigation is continuing and they continue to work with Lake Charles police and analyze evidence as they attempt to identify and arrest anyone who may have assisted Cox during his six-month run from justice, according to Wright.
Sheriff Wright also concluded by saying we continue to extend our condolences to the Humphries family and hope that the arrests of Cox and Morrow will bring them closer to justice in the months.