The Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department conducted a canvass of the Coles Point neighborhood surrounding Bobby Wannamaker's residence at 1313 Coles Point Road, where Forrest Burgess lived from August 18 to September 3.
Investigators were looking for anyone who might have seen or heard anything out of the ordinary on the night of September 1 or the morning of September 2.
The interviews summarized are some of the most typical or relevant to the investigation and are representative of all interviews conducted.
Willie & Doreen Carlisle
owners, Willie's Fuel & Bait
100 Coles Point Landing, Coles Point, MS
Mr. and Mrs. Carlisle said their store is open from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. They said they closed at the usual times on September 1 and 2.
Mr. Carlisle, 61, who opened the store on Sunday, said there were no signs of disturbance or anything out of place when he arrived, including the payphone outside the store, which occasionally is the object of minor vandalism.
Mrs. Carlisle, 57, suggested that investigators speak to Simon DeVille, a local frog gigger who sometimes stops by the store in the middle of the night to pick up a bag of ice.
Russell Peters
Deputy Chief, Coles Point Volunteer Fire Station
505 Main Street, Coles Point, MS
Mr. Peters, 51, said the fire station is not staffed continuously and is typically only used when a fire occurs. Peters said there was no fire that Saturday night and the fire station was unoccupied. Peters said there were no indications anyone had been inside or outside the station that night.
Stuart Sharpe
219 Coles Point Landing, Coles Point, MS
Mr. Sharpe, 44, said his parents arrived at his home for a visit on the morning of September 2.
Sharpe said that upon their arrival, his father notified him that the trash cans at the side of their house were overturned, and the contents spilled into the side yard. Sharpe said he did not know who or what had disturbed the cans, but he had assumed it was a dog or raccoon or another animal.
Sharpe said he had not seen or heard anything unusual the previous night and did not find anything else unusual or disturbed on his property that day.
Marisa Wilkerson
127 Point Road, Coles Point, MS
Mrs. Wilkerson, 31, said she was up with her newborn around 2:00 a.m. on September 2, as she was most nights at that time. She said she was feeding her son when she heard a "banging or crashing noise" outside. She looked out the window but saw nothing.
She was concerned enough that she woke her husband and asked him to check on the situation. Wilkerson said her husband went outside but saw nothing unusual. She said she heard nothing else unusual that night or any other night around that time.