Detectives Make Limited Progress in Strange Attack

(Slayden, MS)  Marshall County detectives say it looks like someone tried to kill Charles Hardman, who somehow managed to escape and save himself.

Problem is, the victim can’t talk, and no one else seems to know much about it.

We’re told 18-year-year old Charles Hardman is in stable condition in The MED, but remains in pretty bad shape after a horrifying ordeal last Wednesday.

”We believe somebody you know apparently tied him up, threw him in the lake and then later was able to get out of the lake and then of course, left the scene in a motor vehicle and crashed” said Investigator Kelly McMillen.

Pictures of the crushed truck from investigators show the extent of that crash and help explain Hardman’s condition.

McMillen visited Hardman late last week, but couldn’t get much information from him, since he remains hooked up to a breathing tube, due to the water in his lungs.

Detectives are going door-to-door in the Slayden area, just South of Highway 72, looking for clues to what happened to Hardman and why the home he’d been staying in was burned to the ground, with cans of gasoline left all around it.

Their investigation even reaches into Hardeman County, Tennessee where Hardman has relatives.

So far, they’ve come up with very little to go on, but they believe they know how he survived.

”We think the belt that he was tied up with come unsewed and we were able to use the Holly Springs Fire Department Dive Team to recover some articles from the bottom of the pond”.

Detectives say it may be a while before Hardman will be able to do much more than just acknowledge their presence.

Meantime, they say the only way to solve this case is with tips from people who may know something, or who may have overheard something about what happened.

If you can help call North Mississippi CrimeStoppers at 800-729-2169.

There’s a reward for information in this case.