The bodies of a missing Tennessee lawmaker and the woman he arrested were found in a submerged police car Thursday night, nearly a day after he apparently alerted dispatchers to “water” while driving the woman to the county jail. Authorities announced that it was discovered inside.
The bodies of Meigs County Sheriff’s Office rookie deputy Robert “RJ” Leonard and an unidentified woman have been recovered from the Tennessee River and are being transported to the Knoxville Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Announced.
Authorities had previously pulled his patrol car from the river on the Hamilton and Meigs county line.
The vehicle was found upside down, the driver’s side window rolled down and the trunk blown out by high water pressure, the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office said in a news conference. According to ABC News.
In the back seat was a body believed to be that of an unidentified woman.
“There was a lot of dirt,” Meigs County District Attorney Russell Johnson said.
“There was a body covered in a lot of mud in the back seat of the car. There was a lot of mud on the front seat. [there’s] There is no body in the front seat. ”
Due to strong currents and murky water, it took searchers several more hours to find Leonard’s body lying nearby.
Officials say they have not been able to reach them since about 10 p.m. Wednesday after responding to a report of a man and woman fighting on a bridge and detaining the woman.
He radioed to dispatchers to say he was on his way to the county jail with the suspect.
However, the dispatcher soon lost all contact with the deputy, who did not respond to check on the situation.
One of his last known communications was a text message to his wife saying, “Arrest me.”
She replied, “That’s good” or “That’s great,” Johnson said.
“We know that his cell phone apparently did not receive that text,” he noted.
Around the same time, officials said, Leonard made his final call for dispatch, in which he apparently said “water,” but authorities used a “special” call to decipher the word. It was necessary to use “techniques that
“Dispatch couldn’t understand what he was saying,” Johnson said. “I think he said ‘water’.”
Officers then used satellite tracking of his vehicle and a location-sharing app Leonard had installed on his phone to locate Leonard’s patrol car on Bryce Ferry Road near the Tennessee River. Ta.
Authorities now believe Leonard, a New York native, was texting and talking on the radio while driving on unfamiliar and dangerous roads.
“The lighting isn’t very good,” Johnson said of the area’s streets. “They’re not very marked. They’re narrow. If you’re not careful, you can end up hitting the water quickly.
“We’re operating on the theory that it was an accident. He missed his turn, was inexperienced and was doing other things that could have caused him to go into the water.”
“There are also some skid marks and scratches,” he noted. “So there’s evidence that he hit the brakes and at least tried to stop.”
According to sources, Leonard graduated from the training academy in December.
“Deputy Leonard has only been here a few months, but he has become part of our family,” Chief Deputy Brian Malone said at a news conference.
“These are difficult times for us here,” he said. “That’s something we never deal with here in Meigs County.”
Sheriff Jackie Melton also said Leonard was working the night shift and was “doing a really good job.”
Meanwhile, his wife Krista wrote on social media: Please continue to pray. Pray more fervently than ever before. ”
“My heart is breaking for the kids and I’m a complete wreck,” she said. he wrote on Facebook.
“Once I can get it together, I’ll start reaching out. All I can do for now is cry.
“We love you forever RJ. 17 years is not enough for you.”
