'Treme' Star Michael Showers Found Dead in New Orleans

An actor living in New Orleans playing a cop from New Orleans died this week, in a mysterious death that sounds like it was written for a show about New Orleans.

Michael Showers, the actor who played policeman Captain John Guidry in the HBO drama "Treme" and had recent appearances in "Breaking Bad," "The Vampire Diaries," and movies like "Traffic," "I Love You Phillip Morris" and "The Tree of Life," was found dead yesterday at the age of 45.

The actor was reportedly discovered in the Mississippi River near the French Quarter, where the body was found floating in the water by a steamboat captain.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that, according to John Gagliano, the chief investigator for the Orleans Parish coroner's office, Showers' body had been in the water for about two days.

No cause of death has been determined, and authorities have not said if foul play is being considered.

"Authorities said Showers’ girlfriend last heard from him Monday night around 11 p.m., when he apparently went into the French Quarter with a friend and did not return. His body was recovered about 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Mississippi River near the Toulouse St. wharf," according to New Orleans TV station WWLTV.

Strangely enough, in "Treme," Showers' character was investigating the real life unsolved murder of Helen Hill, a young filmmaker who was shot and murdered during the chaos of Hurricane Katrina.

Her husband, who was also shot, and her son Francis, managed to survive the shooting, which apparently occurred when Hill encountered looters trying to break into her home.

That case remains unsolved to this day.

When Showers' body was initially found (and before it had been identified), the media speculated that it could have been that of 22-year-old Kylan Laurent, a suspect allegedly connected to a series of prostitute murders who escaped from state police on Tuesday afternoon, and jumped off a bridge into the Mississippi River before police could catch him.

Late last night, Wendell Pierce from 'Treme' tweeted: "Rest In Peace to my costar Michael Showers. 'Capt Guidry' on TREME. He will be a lasting part of our New Orleans story and television history."