Mississippi Code Title 13. Evidence, Process and Juries § 13-1-23

(2)(a) This subsection shall be known and may be cited as the “Zeb Hughes Law.”

(b) A person who has undergone a catastrophic event that exposed the person to imminent peril or danger reasonably expected to result in loss of life and whose absence following the event is not explained satisfactorily after diligent search or inquiry is presumed to be dead if the sworn testimony of persons having firsthand knowledge of the event, including law enforcement officers, first responders, search and rescue personnel and volunteers, eyewitnesses and any other persons, along with any other evidence before the court, is uncontradicted and supports a determination that the death of the missing person occurred in the catastrophic event. The death is presumed to have occurred at the time of the catastrophic event.

(c) The hearing to review evidence of the catastrophic event shall be held no less than two (2) years after the catastrophic event. Loss of life shall be proven by clear and convincing evidence. A notice of the hearing shall be provided to the coroner, the district attorney and the sheriff of the county in which the catastrophic event occurred within thirty (30) days of the date set for the hearing in accordance with the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.