A Lafayette County Circuit Court judge ruled Lee “has undergone a catastrophic event that exposed him to imminent peril or danger reasonably expected to result in the loss of life,” and that “it is uncontradicted that Mr. Lee’s absence since the event cannot be satisfactorily explained after diligent search and inquiry.”

A Lafayette County judge declared Jimmie "Jay" Lee, a missing Ole Miss student, legally dead more than two years after Lee's disappearance.

The University of Mississippi student, Jimmie “Jay” Lee, has officially been presumed dead by the court after a petition was filed for a declaration of death.