60-Year-Old Joseph Edwin Ladnier, Missing Mississippi Man and a Well-Known Powerlifter Found Dead in Alabama
The body of a missing Mississippi power lifter was found last Friday in Mobile County.
Joseph Edwin Ladnier, 60, had not been seen since Christmas Eve, according to the Jackson County (Miss.) Sheriff’s Office.
The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office reported that Ladnier’s body was found Friday, one day after his red 2004 Toyota Tundra was discovered on Chunchula Landfill Road in Chunchula.
The vehicle had been backed into an abandoned driveway and was discovered by Mobile County Road and Bridge Personnel, according to the sheriff’s office.
“The investigation is ongoing and there is nothing further to release at this time,” the sheriff’s office said at the time.
Authorities said Ladnier was last seen at his home in Hurley, Miss on Christmas Eve. He reportedly left to visit his son on Lilly Patch Road in Moss Point but never arrived.
Investigators said he has not used any of his bank cards and his vehicle tag has not been scanned by any local or Interstate tag readers.
Several personal items were found inside the vehicle, including a pillow, a computer bag with a laptop, $146 in cash and an empty pistol holster.
Authorities conducted a six-hour canine search along the road, tracking the scent to an structure that appeared unoccupied. The body was found a day later, according to the sheriff’s office.
Ladnier was reportedly the first man to break the 2,100 pound total for bench, deadlift, and squat.
Robbie Fox, who paid tribute to Ladnier on Facebook, wrote that he was his first powerlifting coach.
“With his coaching and friendship I am the powerlifter I am today,” Fox said. “I did my first meet at Joe’s Gym and didn’t even know the guy or what he had done in the past. After the meet Joe and I talked before I left that day he told me that I could squat 700 lbs.”