The body of a missing Meigs County Deputy was recovered Thursday night not far from where his submerged cruiser was found earlier in the day.
Officials say Deputy Robert “R.J.” Leonard responded to a disturbance call Wednesday night on Highway 60 at the bridge near the Birchwood Community.
Deputy Leonard notified dispatch that he had arrested someone and was taking them to the jail to be booked. Leonard also texted the word “arrest” to his wife to let her know that he had just made an arrest.
Dispatch said about 12 minutes later they heard a garbled transmission. They say Deputy Leonard may have said the word “water”.
Dispatch performed a status check on all on-duty officers and Deputy Leonard was the only one who did not respond. His cell phone pinged in the area of Blythe Ferry Road.
Visible skid marks were found on the boat landing going into the water. Shortly after noon eastern time Thursday the deputy’s vehicle was removed from the river. The body of the woman he had arrested was in the back seat of the cruiser. Authorities still had not released her name as of 7:30pm CT Thursday but said her family has been notified.
The investigation into the tragic incident is still ongoing. Officials say the deputy’s front window was discovered rolled down. Deputy Leonard’s body was recovered from the water around 6:30pm Thursday.
Deputy Leonard was originally from New York and had recently graduated from the Academy. He had been with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office for about two months.