Two Vicksburg men could face murder charges later this week in the abduction and death of Sharen Wilson, 69, whose body was found in a wooded area by the abandoned Kuhn Memorial Hospital, 1422 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Police Chief Walter Armstrong said.

Akeem McCloud, 20, no address available, and his uncle, Rafael McCloud, 33, 513 Lynn St., were being held in the Warren County Jail while police continue their investigation of Wilson’s death. Although formal charges have not been filed, the jail booking docket had “murder” written by Rafael McCloud’s name. Armstrong said both men were expected to be charged either Tuesday or Wednesday.

The men were taken into custody by Leland police officers at 8:30 a.m. Sunday and held for Vicksburg authorities after a traffic stop for careless driving in Leland. Rafael McCloud, who took police on a wild goose chase through Sharkey County looking for Wilson, was placed into the Warren County Jail. Akeem McCloud, who stayed Sunday night in Washington County, was returned Monday to Vicksburg.

Rafael McCloud was convicted of auto burglary in 2002, grand larceny in 2003 and armed robbery in 2005, according to court records. He received a suspended sentence on the grand larceny charge and was sentenced to 10 years on the robbery with four years to serve and five years’ probation. Akeem McCloud had no previous record with the DA’s Office.

Armstrong said Rafael McCloud’s directions took officers on a circuitous course through Sharkey County that brought them to within miles of Greenville, when they learned Wilson’s body had been found.

“We were going on what the suspect was telling us,” Armstrong said of the search. “He was cooperative, but he was lying out of his teeth.”

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. has ordered extra police patrols in the Drummond Street and Kuhn property area on Martin Luther King.

The McClouds were detained by Leland police after officers found a handgun reported stolen in an earlier Vicksburg burglary, Vicksburg police Capt. Sandra Williams said. She added a check of the car’s registration came back as Wilson’s. Authorities said the men do not face charges in Leland.

After learning the car was Wilson’s, Armstrong said, Leland police called Vicksburg and asked for an officer to go to the house and see if anyone was home. An officer went by the house, knocked on the door, but no one answered.

Earlier, he said, a friend of Wilson’s walked by the house, saw her newspaper on the sidewalk, and put it inside the fence.

“She noticed that Mrs. Wilson’s car wasn’t there and assumed she had gone to church,” Armstrong said.

Later, he said, the friend received a call from Mrs. Wilson’s family in Hammond, La., who were concerned because they had been unable to contact Mrs. Wilson, who was supposed to go to Hammond to see them.

“They asked her to go over and she if she could make contact with her,” Armstrong said. “She was able to enter the house through the back door, and goes inside and learned the house had been ransacked. We now realized we had a missing person and we had the name of the missing person.”

Officers returned to Wilson’s Drummond Street home about 12:30 p.m.

Armstrong said investigators and a crime scene team went to Leland to meet with authorities there, and talked to Rafael McCloud, who said he would take them to where he and his nephew dropped Wilson off.

Armstrong said McCloud took the officers on search route that put them within 6 miles of Greenville when they learned Wilson’s body had been found by ghost hunters on the Kuhn Hospital property.

He said Wilson’s friend later identified the body.