killed 2 drivers?!

Miss. police probe whether imposter cop killed 2 drivers

5/15/2012By Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Mississippi authorities and the FBI are investigating whether someone posing as a police officer killed two motorists late at night last week, according to news reports from the Magnolia State.

Both vehicles were found in northwestern Mississippi on remote stretches of highway on or near an interstate, and neither showed signs of a breakdown, Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain told the Jackson Clarion Ledger, published by USA TODAY's parent company, Gannett. Both vehicles were red, but police believe that was a coincidence.

The victims, a man and a woman traveling alone, were shot multiple times, and police are analyzing shell casings to determine if they came from the same gun. Neither victim appeared to be missing anything, said DeSoto County district attorney John Champion, according to the Associated Press.



Thomas Schlender, 74, of Raymond, Neb., was found dead in his 1999 Ford F-150 on I-55 in Panola County about 1:30 a.m. May 8. He was headed to Pensacola, Fla., to pick up his grandson from college.

Three days later, Lori Anne Carswell, 48, of Hernando, Miss., was found about 2:15 a.m. in the road near her 1997 Pontiac Grand Am, which was parked on the shoulder along Mississippi 713 near the junction with I-66 in nearby Tunica County. She was returning home from her job at a nearby Mississippi River casino.

"We don't know how she wound up outside of the vehicle, but she was out of the car," Strain said.

Schlender's body was found in his truck, which crashed into a median divider. Five shell casings were found.

"He didn't deserve this type of end to his life," his son-in-law, Matt Anderson, told the Omaha World-Herald. "There was shock initially, and then we felt profound sadness. Now we're getting mad. We want justice, we want somebody to be held accountable for his death."

ABC News reports that police are searching for a gold Ford Crown Victoria, which resembles a police cruiser.

AP writes that Champion "advised motorists concerned about stopping for a law enforcement vehicle to call 911 to confirm that the traffic stop was legitimate. He said motorists also should put on their flashing hazard lights and drive to a safe, well-lit area until they receive notice that the stop was real."