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Where is Gary Jones?
Crews returned to Lake Oconee on Friday searching for a missing high school coach. He’s presumed dead after crews pulled his fiancée’s body from the lake last weekend. The sheriff says this incident was not a simple accident.
PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. - Authorities continue to search Lake Oconee for Westminster coach and mentor Gary Jones, who vanished while boating with his fiancée last weekend.
His fiancée, Spellman College instructor Joycelyn Wilson, was found dead in the lake, prompting an ongoing death investigation.
Joycelyn Wilson
What we know:
Valentine's Day was the seventh day of the search for the missing 50-year-old coach.
The search is being coordinated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Emergency crews, including an all-volunteer dive response team, have been scouring the lake. Team leader Richard Pickering described the search as an enormous and challenging undertaking. "This search area extends over a mile side-to-side and over a mile-and-a-half long," Pickering said. "There’s standing timber out here in the water, and it makes it very hard for the sonar teams to work."
Gary Jones
Team leader Richard Pickering told FOX 5 Atlanta that they planned to assist other searchers for at least three days, using drones and SONAR equipment. Pickering also mentioned how submerged timber in the lake can cause issues for boaters.
What we don't know:
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills confirmed that Wilson’s autopsy has been completed, but he has not disclosed specific details. While authorities have not classified the case as a homicide or suicide, Sills emphasized that this is not a simple accident. "The circumstances where one body was found, the other body can't be found, and things like that, plus some other information that I’m not at liberty to talk about, caused me to make a decision that this was not a simple drowning," Sills said.
Timeline:
The couple had checked into a lakeside resort to celebrate Wilson’s 50th birthday before taking a small boat onto the water. Their vessel was later discovered still running. Jones remains missing.
Last Saturday afternoon, an empty boat was found near Wallace Dam.
On Sunday morning, Wilson's body was pulled from the lake.
Since then, the only sign of Jones has been the discovery of a pair of shoes, believed to have belonged to him.
Multiple people have spent days searching the lake using various equipment and methods.
On Friday, a cadaver dog was brought in to assist with the search.
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Search continues on Lake Oconee for beloved coach
Search crews are on Lake Oconee in hopes of finding the body of beloved Coach Gary Jones. He's presumed dead after search crews pulled his fiancé’s body out of the lake over the weekend. The sheriff remains steadfast this fatal incident is not a simple accident.
More about Lake Oconee
The backstory:
Lake Oconee is the second-largest lake in Georgia, stretching 20 miles long with a maximum width of less than a mile. It boasts 374 miles of shoreline and a surface area of over 19,970 acres.
Surrounded by an environmental strip free of structures, the lake prohibits boats with toilets and enclosed cabins, maintaining its clear and environmentally safe waters. Because none of the tributaries feeding into Lake Oconee pass through large industrial cities, the lake is widely regarded as one of the cleanest in the Southeast. It is also a prime fishing destination, home to bass, catfish, and crappie.
Lake Oconee’s Biggest Mystery
What we know:
One of the most notorious unsolved crimes in Lake Oconee’s history is the gruesome 2014 murder of an elderly couple, Shirley and Russell Dermond.
The case continues to baffle investigators more than 10 years later.
In May 2014, 88-year-old Russell Dermond was found decapitated in the carport of his home. His head was never recovered.
Ten days later, his 87-year-old wife, Shirley Dermond, was found miles away in the lake, her body weighed down by concrete blocks.
Despite extensive investigations, the killer(s) remain unidentified.
In May 2024, the FBI increased the reward to $20,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case.
RELATED STORY: FBI's quest for justice intensifies in Dermond murders