NATCHEZ — A Natchez man Thursday morning jumped to his death from an overpass in Vicksburg, said Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten.

Patten said the Warren County Sheriff’s Office notified him of the incident this morning.

Gary Wills

“I received a phone call this morning from Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace about the incident that occurred in Vicksburg,” Patten said. “After Sheriff Pace described the incident that took place, we immediately sent deputies out to do a welfare check that turned into a death notification.”

The man, identified by Patten as Gary Wills, 57,  had been missing from his family since Wednesday.

“This is not the kind of news you want to deliver to any family, but it has to be done out of necessity, and our hearts go out to his daughter and family,” he said.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said his office received a call at about 10 a.m. Thursday.

“We responded to do a welfare check on a white male pacing back and forth on the overpass that crosses over U.S. Highway 61,” Pace said, referring to the Culkin Road overpass “As deputies approached the individual to ask if he was OK, he jumped off the bridge, landing on U.S. 61 below.

“Deputies were able to get to him immediately, and an ambulance arrived within minutes. He was transported to Merit Health River Region Hospital, where he died a short time later,” Pace said.

He said a vehicle was found parked nearby.

“The registration of that vehicle led us to Natchez. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate the family and positively identify the victim for us. He had no identification on his person,” Pace said.

Wills was the owner of Creative Exteriors in Natchez.

Want a really happy new year? The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday, Dec. 27, is an estimated $1.1 billion.

The winning numbers will be drawn just after 10 p.m. Central, and the cash option is $516.1 million.

A $1.1 billion-winning ticket was sold in New Jersey earlier this year, and that prize was just claimed this week, nine months after the drawing. In Mississippi, drawing winners must claim their prize within 180 days, and if you win, you can claim it anonymously.

Here’s what you need to know about top jackpots and how to play Mega Millions in Mississippi, including where you can buy tickets and how to claim the prize if you win.

Where can you buy lottery tickets?

More: Did anyone win the Powerball jackpot last night? See winning numbers for Dec. 25 lottery drawing

Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.

How to play the Mega Millions

In order to buy a ticket, you’ll have to visit your local convenience store, gas station or grocery store. In a handful of states, you can purchase tickets online, but Mississippi isn’t one of them.

To play, you will need to pick six numbers. Five numbers will be white balls ranging from 1 to 70. The gold Mega Ball is one number between 1 and 25. 

If you believe the odds are against you, ask for a ”Quick Pick” or an ”Easy Pick,” the computer will randomly generate the numbers for you. 

Players can add the ”Megaplier” for $1, which can increase non-grand prize winnings by two, three, four or five times. The Megaplier is drawn before the Mega Millions numbers on Tuesday and Friday.

There are 15 Megapiler balls in all:

• 2X, five balls.
• 3X, six balls.
• 4X, three balls.
• 5X, one ball.

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What are the top Mega Millions jackpots?  

According to the lottery, the following jackpots are the Top 10 jackpots that have been won as of Oct. 4:  

1. $1.602 billion, Aug. 8, 2023; a Florida player  
2. $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018; a South Carolina player  
3. $1.348 billion, Jan.13, 2023; a Maine player  
4. $1.337 billion, July 29, 2022; an Illinois player  
5. $1.128 billion, March 26, 2024; a New Jersey payer 
6. $1.050 billion, Jan. 22, 2021; a Michigan player 
7. $810 million, Sept. 10, 2024; a Texas player 
8. $656 million, March 30, 2012; a player from Illinois, Kansas and Maryland 
9. $648 million, Dec. 17,2013; a player from California and Georgia 
10. $552 million, June 4, 2024; an Illinois player  

I won the lottery in Mississippi! What next?

The Mississippi Lottery advises people to sign the back of their winning ticket immediately.

If your prize is less than $600, you can claim that at any place that sells Mississippi Lottery tickets.

If you win $600-$99,999, you can claim by mail or by going to the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters in Flowood.

All prizes more than $100,000 must be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters.

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Check out Possum Ridge, an annual exhibit put on by Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson.

Possum Ridge is a fictional town in Mississippi featuring model trains that you and your family can come check out during the holiday season.

Drew Gardner is the museum’s programming manager.

He said, “Yeah, so this is Possum Ridge. We have been doing Possum Ridge, the train town here at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, for over 50 years. It is actually our 50th anniversary. The first time we did it was in 1974. We’re so proud. We have it out every December.”

There are many museum staff members that help make this possible for visitors each year.

Gardner went on and said, “Yeah, so this is really a program from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History that we host. But we’ve got a group, some of our staff as well as others, that have really been dedicated over the years to making sure not only that we have this space but also that we continue to update it. So it’s kind of a unique combination of a community of folks that absolutely love and care for these trains.”

Plenty of visitors have already come through to check out Possum Ridge. We caught up with one family that was visiting the exhibit for the first time.

Mindy and Charles Freeman brought their grandson to the exhibit.

“I think it’s really cool. He went over with us. All of these buildings and stuff are a place in Mississippi. My little grandson here, his name is Sam, and he loves trains. So we just bought him out today to see the train exhibit,” Mindy Freeman said.

The Mississippi Rail lines are nothing short of historic.

These tracks helped countless Black Mississippians travel out of Mississippi during southern segregation to cities like Chicago and Detroit.

“The Illinois Central, as we talked about the Great Migration story. Black Mississippians made their way out of places like Mississippi to Chicago and other places further north. So in Mississippi, these rail lines were a heart for so many,” Gardner said.

There is no charge to view the exhibit. You and your family can check out Possum Ridge until December 31.

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