Clinton PD asks for help finding missing Clinton woman last seen with sex offender

Ethel Simpson

Clinton police and family members of an 81 year old Clinton resident are fearing the worst. This after she was last seen with a violent offender.

Ethel Simpson visits the Baptist Healthplex Center on the Mississippi College campus every day. Monday she had a fender bender in the parking lot. She went back inside and was approached by a stranger who had signed in using a guest pass. 39 year old James Cobb Hutto.

WLBT obtained pictures of the wanted man. He is wearing a black T-shirt and signing in for a guest pass. We ask if she was targeted? "It's difficult to say but a good strong possibility," replied Chief Don Byington during a Thursday morning news conference.

Police say Hutto befriended the woman. He and Mrs. Simpson are seen leaving the healthplex together, with Hutto behind the wheel of her Mercedes. That sent up a red flag. An employee was on the last people to talk to her around 4:30 Monday afternoon. "She said she felt sorry for him. She said I really think he's on the up and up," according to Jan Cossitt.

James Hutto

But was James Hutto truthful? We have learned they went to lunch, then she dropped him off at a Clinton hotel. "He said to Simpson, that he had not told anybody but he had cancer and he had no family," according to Chief Byington.

Despite warnings, the elderly woman winds up with Hutto at a Vicksburg casino Monday night. They were last seen leaving the casino together around 11;40 p.m. What she didn't know was, this man has a violent criminal history.

"At present he is wanted for not registering as a sex offender." The Alabama man's rap sheet reveals a troubling history. Criminal trespassing, domestic violence, 1st degree kidnapping and felony sexual abuse. According to Jan Cossitt, "He just prayed on a big hearted elderly lady, he is an excellent con man apparently."

The last known sighting was at 3:00 in the morning. The Mercedes was seen traveling east on I-20. No one knows if Ethel Simpson was in the car.

Simpson's Mercedes is a silver C 240 4-door model, with a broken rear tail light on the driver's side. The tag number is HXH 426.

Anyone with information about Ethel Simpson or James Cobb Hutto's whereabouts should contact the Clinton Police Department 601-924-5252.

UPDATE: James Cobb Hutto, the man sought in connection with the disappearance of an elderly Clinton woman, has been arrested in Alabama. There is still no sign of the missing woman, Ethel Simpson. Hutto was driving her car when he was found.


WLBT