13 days after disappearing, Gary Jones remains missing on Lake Oconee
Gary Jones search on Lake Oconee: Day 12
After the rain delayed much of the searching Wednesday on Lake Oconee, volunteers were back on the water Thursday looking for any sign of Gary Jones. He’s the Atlanta educator who was last seen on a boat with his fiancée Joycelyn Wilson on Feb. 8.
PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. - After the rain delayed much of the searching Wednesday on Lake Oconee, volunteers were back on the water Thursday looking for any sign of Gary Jones, the Atlanta educator who was last seen on a boat with his fiancé, Joycelyn Wilson, on Feb. 8.
Wilson’s body was found a day after their disappearance. Her friends and family gathered on Thursday for her celebration of life as search teams continued to scour the lake for Jones.
Searching Lake Oconee
What we know:
One of the volunteers said this is one of the more difficult searches he has been a part of. On Thursday, he took FOX 5 out on the water to show what they were dealing with, such as bitterly cold temperatures and wind.
"Look at the conditions today, it’s white capping," said Capt. Laurence Walker with the United Cajun Navy, a non-profit that, among other things, helps with search and rescue operations. Walker took FOX 5 out on his boat as he conducted a grid search of the water and showed us the flooded timber, which makes Lake Oconee so difficult to search.
"We’re like a half a mile from the shoreline, and we're still getting stuck on the tops of trees that are sticking up 30, 40 feet off the bottom," Walker said. Walker took us into the hazard area very carefully. He showed us all the trees under the water that his sonar was picking up. As we were getting ready to leave, we saw for ourselves the danger hiding just below the surface.
Thursday marked day 13 since Jones was last seen on a small boat with his fiancée. Jones is a coach and teacher at Westminster Schools in Atlanta. Wilson worked at Spelman College. She was found dead in the water the day after they disappeared. Her celebration of life was Thursday.
What they're saying:
"Let me tell you, no matter how experienced you are, it doesn't matter, how many years you've been on this lake, as you saw with us over there, it just can happen to anybody," Walker said.
Walker says while the search is difficult, he will not be stopping.
"Just a very difficult search, it's a very difficult situation," he said. "We're confident that at some point we'll find him."
What's next:
A Department of Natural Resources helicopter was also out assisting with the search on Thursday and will likely return when possible.
Cadaver dogs are expected to once again be back on the scene starting on Saturday.
What you can do:
The organizations involved with the search are non-profit groups that rely on donations to continue helping families and law enforcement.
Emergency Dive Response Team: edrt.org
The United Cajun Navy: unitedcajunnavy.org
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The Source: FOX 5's Tyler Fingert spoke with searchers on Lake Oconee searching for Gary Jones.