A Tennessee woman was found dead in the backseat of a submerged police patrol shortly before the missing deputy’s body was recovered from the river.
Robert “RJ” Leonard, a deputy with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office, called his dispatch for the last time Wednesday evening and said “water” before all communication with the office was lost.
Prior to Leonard’s disappearance, he responded to a report of a man and a woman fighting on a bridge around 10 p.m. local time and took a woman into custody.
On Thursday, his patrol car was recovered from the Tennessee River and a body believed to be that of the arrestee was recovered.
Leonard’s body was found hours later near the location where the cruiser was removed, as reported by the sheriff’s office.
A Tennessee woman was found dead in the backseat of a submerged police patrol shortly before the missing deputy’s body was recovered from the river
On Thursday, a patrol car was pulled from the Tennessee River and a body believed to be that of the arrestee was recovered.
Robert “RJ” Leonard (pictured left with woman), a deputy with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office, made a chilling call to dispatch Wednesday evening saying “water,” then lost communication with the office
While authorities are still working to confirm the identity of the woman recovered during the patrol, they believe it is the woman arrested, Meigs County District Attorney Russell Johnson said.
‘There was a lot of mud. There is a body in the back seat of the car, covered in a lot of mud. There is a lot of mud on the front seat, but there is no body on the front seat,” he added.
Due to the strong current and murky water, it took a few hours to confirm whether the other body was Leonard’s.
The deputy graduated from the training academy last December and has been with the force ever since.
“Deputy Leonard had only been here a few months, but he had become part of our family,” Chief Deputy Brian Malone said through tears.
‘It’s difficult for us here. It’s something we never have to deal with here in Meigs County,” he added.
While authorities are still working to confirm the identity of the woman recovered during the patrol, they believe it is the woman arrested, Meigs County District Attorney Russell Johnson said.
A vehicle filled with mud was found in the Tennessee River on Thursday morning. It was upside down with the wheels up and the driver’s side window down
Leonard’s body was found hours later near the location where the cruiser was removed, as reported by the sheriff’s office
“Deputy Leonard had only been here a few months, but he had become part of our family,” Chief Deputy Brian Malone said through tears.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday, Leonard radioed dispatch, telling them he was driving a suspect to the county jail.
Ten minutes later, communication with the deputy was lost and he did not respond to a status check.
Almost simultaneously, Leonard texted his wife saying “arrest,” and his wife replied, “that’s great.”
“We know his phone apparently didn’t receive that text message,” Johnson said.
In his last radio conversation, Leonard said “water,” a word that authorities had to use “special techniques” to later decipher.
“Dispatch didn’t know what he was saying,” Johnson said. “We think he said ‘Water.’
A satellite tracking of his vehicle and a location sharing app on his photo led officers to Blythe Ferry Road near the Tennessee River.
“They triangulated the last position of his phone and the Life360 that his wife linked to his phone and it appears they are almost in the same location,” Johnson said.
A vehicle filled with mud was found in the Tennessee River on Thursday morning. It was upside down with the wheels up and the driver’s side window down.
The deputy graduated from the training academy last December and has been with the force ever since
The devastating incident has left Leonard’s wife and children in fear, as his wife shared in a social media post
Agencies across the state are still investigating the incident, but Johnson said the deputy appeared to be texting and talking on the radio while driving on a treacherous road.
‘They are not well lit. They are not marked properly. They are narrow. “If he’s not careful, he can end up in the water pretty quickly,” Johnson said.
“We’re going with the theory that it was an accident – he missed his turn, he didn’t know him and he did other things that might have put him in the water,” Johnson said.
Chief Deputy Malone stated this is not the first accident in the area. He points to an earlier incident in December in which a woman survived after driving her car into the water.
The devastating incident has left Leonard’s wife and children in fear, as his wife shared in a social media post.
‘Our lives have been changed forever. Please keep praying. Pray harder than ever before. My heart breaks for my kids, and I’m just an absolute wreck. I’ll start reaching out as soon as I can get it done.
‘For now I can only cry. We love you forever RJ. 17 years is not long enough for you,” she wrote.