A 28-year-old Bowie man was found dead in his cell at the Montague County Jail Tuesday afternoon, and the apparent suicide is under investigation by the Texas Rangers.

Chief Deputy J.T. Mitchell said at 4:09 p.m. July 29, the jail staff while doing the normal rounds found James Weldon McGowan deceased in his cell.

“The area was secured by the staff and the district attorney investigator, while the Texas Rangers were notified to conduct an investigation into the death, which is believed to be a suicide,” said Mitchell.

Ranger Marshall Thomas said McGowan’s body was sent to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. He would not elaborate on a possible cause of death, but restated “we feel it was a suicide.”

McGowan was booked into the county jail on July 22 on charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and theft of a firearm.