Body ID’d as missing Montz man

Police find his burned truck 64 miles from body

The St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office is awaiting results from an autopsy on a missing Montz man who was found dead in the water about two miles north of Ruddock on March 19.

Police have positively identified the body as that of Ron Sterling Jefferson, 32, who was reported missing by his family on March 8.

Because of decomposition, police were unable to identify the body through fingerprints so they used dental records to make a positive ID, said Maj. Robert Hay, commander of the criminal investigations division for the Sheriff’s Office.
The body was initially identified as Jefferson because of his physical description and tattoos of praying hands, a deck of cards and a fleur de lis found on the body.

Jefferson had not been seen since March 6 when he was driving his maroon Ford F-150 truck in the Kenner area.

Police located the truck about 64 miles away from where the body was found. It had been been burned in what is believed to be an arson-related incident, Hay said.

Foul play is suspected and an investigation is still underway, according to Sgt. Jerry Fountain, a detective with the Sheriff’s Office.

“We can’t say much right now because we don’t want to jeopardize the investigation,” Fountain said.

The police are awaiting toxicology results from the autopsy.
Police said that the cause of death is uncertain but that it has been ruled a homicide.