A body thought to be that of a missing Natchez man was found next to a handgun early Friday morning at Thompson School. Michael Chambers, 42, of 828 Martin Luther King Jr. St., has been missing for three weeks.

The body was found at 12:30 a.m. by a Natchez police officer who had stopped at the school to make sure the buildings were secure.

&uot;As he was walking around the school buildings he noticed a foul odor,&uot; said Natchez Police Chief Willie Huff.

The officer and another officer called to scene located the body in a dressing room near the unused pool at Sadie V. Thompson School on North Union Street.

The body was sent to Jackson Friday for autopsy to positively identify the body and determine the cause and time of death. That autopsy will probably be performed this weekend, Huff said.

&uot;We suspect it’s (Chambers), primarily because he was missing from that area,&uot;&160;Huff said. &uot;My speculation is that he’d been there since very soon after he came up missing.&uot;

Huff confirmed a loaded, small-caliber pistol was lying nearby when the body was found, but the body was so badly decomposed that the cause of death could not be readily determined.

&uot;Evidence lends us to believe that he died at that location,&uot; Huff said.

He said police will continue the investigating all leads to determine if foul play was involved.

During the last few days, Natchez police have been making special efforts to find Chambers, including sending 10 officers to check vacant buildings and question residents in the area around Chambers’ house Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, law enforcement officers used a county helicopter to search area bayous.

Chambers’ family was notified by police Friday morning that a body had been found.

His mother, Ida Davis, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Davis last spoke with her son Feb. 12, when he called to say he was coming to visit her at her home.

But Chambers did not show up at her house, and Davis went to check on him at his home.

There, she found his house unlocked and his vehicle still there.