Missing deputy's body found after patrol car recovered from Tennessee river
The body of a missing Meigs County, Tennessee, sheriff's deputy has been found, officials said Thursday, hours after his patrol vehicle was pulled from the Tennessee River with the body of another person inside.
The body of a missing Meigs County, Tennessee, sheriff's deputy has been found, officials said Thursday, hours after his patrol vehicle was pulled from the Tennessee River with the body of another person inside.
Deputy Robert "R.J." Leonard was last heard from Wednesday night shortly after he arrested someone and was on his way to the jail. His patrol car was pulled Thursday from the water in the area of the Blythe Ferry boat ramp, District Attorney General Russell Johnson said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
The vehicle was found upside down with the trunk blown open by the pressure. A female body covered in "a lot of mud" was discovered in the back seat, Johnson said.
Johnson said officials believe the body is that of a person whom Leonard had arrested and was taking to the jail when he was last heard from, though that has not been confirmed. She has not been identified.
No one was found in the front seat, and the driver's side window was rolled down. Leonard's body was later found and his remains were being brought to the Knoxville Regional Medical Examiner's Office, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said Thursday night.
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