Manhunt intensifies for suspect in disappearance of mom, 3 girls

Federal authorities are using digital billboards along roads in several Southern states to alert the public to watch for a 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the disappearance of a mother and her three daughters, officials said Monday.

The billboards warn about Adam Mayes and are along routes from Guntown, Miss. -- where Mayes was last seen on May 1 -- to other states where he is known to have connections, FBI spokesman Joel E. Siskovic said in a telephone interview Monday afternoon.

Mayes, who’s been described as a friend of the family, has ties to Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, officials said.

“Our primary goal is to bring back the family safely,” Siskovic said.

Meanwhile, officials are awaiting the results of autopsies on two bodies found last week in the Guntown-area, Siskovic said. He would not discuss the bodies, or even say whether they were those of adults or children.

The Memphis FBI office is the lead agency in the hunt, but Mississippi police have also stepped up their efforts, including searching some vehicles’ trunks, the Associated Press reported.

Authorities have identified Mayes as the suspect in the April 27 disappearance of some of the Bain family members from their home in western Tennessee. Missing are Jo Ann Bain and daughters Adrienne, 14, Alexandria, 12, and Kyliyah, 8.

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Michael.muskal@latimes.com