The Car in the Woods: The Unsolved Murder of Joe Michael Ruffin

On the evening of Tuesday, August 17, 2010 , in the remote Vossburg community of Clarke County, deputies responded to a disturbing call: a vehicle had been located on a rural county road....with a body inside. A family driving down the County Road 242 on their way to church made the grisly discovery.

The condition of the body would make immediate identification difficult, though the car would lead them to believe that the body may be that of Michael "Slow Motion" Ruffin. Ruffin had been missing from Waynesboro -- just across the county line in Wayne County -- for five days. The 2003 Cadilla DeVille belonged to him.

Ruffin had reportedly told his family that he was heading to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. His family would see him for the last time at about 11 p.m. in Waynesboro. After his family was unable to reach him, Ruffin was reported missing on August 12, 2010.

Clarke County Sheriff Todd Kemp would confirm that foul play was suspected due to evidence found inside the vehicle. The preliminary autopsy performed on Ruffin's body would show that he had been shot one time in his back near the shoulder with a shotgun. The Crime Lab was unable to identify the type of shotgun used.

The Clarke County Sheriff's Department, Waynesboro Police Department, Jasper County Sheriff's Department, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation joined efforts to solve the murder of Michael Ruffin. They surmised that Ruffin was killed in Wayne County in the Hiwannee community before his body was transported in the backseat of his Cadillac DeVille to the rural county road where he was eventually discovered. His car was found just 50 yards from the Jasper County line.

At the time of the murder, there were a couple of homicides in Wayne, Jasper, and Jones counties that were gang related. Authorities believed that the murder of Ruffin could be related. Sadly, this has never been proven. The murder of Michael "Slow Motion" Ruffin remains unsolved.

If you have any information related to the unsolved homicide of Mr. Michael Ruffin please contact the Clarke County Sheriff's Office.