CLINTON - The East Feliciana Parish coroner said he is leaving office in a surprise announcement Wednesday.

Parish officials told WBRZ that Coroner Ewell Bickham III turned in his resignation letter Wednesday afternoon. He will formally leave his job at the end of the month.

Bickham first took office in March 2020, at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Attempts to contact him Wednesday evening were unsuccessful.

The Louisiana Secretary of State's Office says a special election will be held in fall 2023, taking place alongside the gubernatorial election.