The body of an East Tennessee deputy missing after his vehicle went into the Tennessee River while he was taking a woman to the county jail has been discovered. His remains were escorted to the Knoxville Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
Deputy Robert “R.J.” Leonard, a rookie with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office, was called to the scene of a disturbance Wednesday night on the Highway 60 bridge near the Birchwood Community.
District Attorney General Russell Johnson said Thursday during a news conference that Leonard arrived at the scene at 9:48 p.m.
“Cell phone service in this neck of the woods is not good and radio communications are not as we’ve found out,” Johnson said.
Three minutes after his arrival, Leonard was on his way to the county jail.
“The next communication happened approximately 12 minutes later at 10:03 p.m.,” Johnson said. “And there was a radio communication that had come out and dispatch couldn’t tell what he was saying.”
Using voice analysis tools, investigators believe Leonard said “water” in the radio communication to dispatchers.