Police and volunteers continue to search for a missing Georgia coach celebrating his 50th birthday after the body of his fiancée was found floating in a lake earlier this month.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, which is overseeing the death investigation, said Gary Jones and Joycelyn Wilson checked into a hotel near Lake Oconee on Feb. 8, reports Fox affiliate WGXA TV.
After checking in, they were last seen almost immediately getting into Jones’ fishing boat on the lake, approximately 120 kilometres southeast of Atlanta.
The unmanned boat was seen hours later by witnesses, approximately 10 km from where it was launched.
A day later, Wilson’s body was located floating in the lake, Sheriff Howard Sills said, adding her cellphone was found in her hand. A pair of shoes belonging to Jones were also found floating near her body.
“We know for a fact that there was some air in her lungs that would have provided the necessary buoyancy,” Sills told NBC affiliate WXIA.
“I’m not saying she didn’t drown — that’s up to the medical examiner, who has not finished their report — but it was enough to keep her from going all the way to the bottom.”
Sills said investigators have no evidence that the boat was struck by another vessel or by anything under the water, but are looking into possible foul play.
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It appears the couple were celebrating Jones’ birthday after a cookie cake was found on the boat. Jones’ driver’s licence and wallet were also located on the boat, along with bait, tackle, and a fishing rod.
Jones was a teacher and track coach at the private Westminster School in Atlanta while Wilson was a math professor at Spelman College also in Atlanta.
A memorial service was planned Thursday morning for Wilson, reports ABC affiliate WSB-TV, who also worked as a professor at Howard University and the University of Maryland.