GA -- 2 teachers missing after boat outing. Body of Joycelyn Wilson found, Gary Jones still missing. Lake Oconee. 08 Feb. 2025

[vls12345]

This happened over a week ago:

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Originally news reports seemed like it was just a terrible accident.

But, since Gary Jones has not yet been found, I have been seeing this quote in local news reports:

"The circumstances in this case indicate it's not just a simple drowning," Sheriff Sills said on Friday night.

A lot seems uncertain right now & searching continues.

 

[vls12345]

Authorities discover wallet belonging to missing boater on Lake Oconee

It's been over a week since Gary Jones and Joycelyn Wilson disappeared while boating on Lake Oconee. Jones has still not been found.

www.11alive.com

Sheriff Howard Sills added that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) found Gary Jones' wallet on the boat.

The couple checked into a hotel before heading straight to Fish Tale Marina in Eatonton, where security cameras captured them launching their small boat into Lick Creek at approximately 3:30 p.m. Sills said that about two hours later, at around 5:30 p.m., boaters in Richland Creek, a major tributary to the Oconee River and Lake Oconee, spotted an empty 12-foot Jon boat idling in circles.

After searching the area for several minutes, the boaters called 911. Later that evening, DNR wardens found the vessel along the shore after it had stopped running.

"This vessel was not designed for where it was," Sills said. "They traveled at least seven miles from where they put in."
Inside the boat, authorities found life jackets, snacks, and a slice of birthday cake.

So, two missing, one found deceased in the water, one remains missing. But the boat was upright, running in circles, & had life jackets, snacks, birthday cake slice, & a wallet on board.

 

[Leilei]

I'm in ATL so I've been following.
The lake is huge, and we've had a ton of rain up until yesterday, so he may still be in the water.
We'll see, though, stranger things have happened.
IMO.

 

[vls12345]

Statement from the family of missing boater Gary Jones:

This website is unavailable in your location. – WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta

www.wsbtv.com

 

[Leilei]

Authorities discover wallet belonging to missing boater on Lake Oconee

It's been over a week since Gary Jones and Joycelyn Wilson disappeared while boating on Lake Oconee. Jones has still not been found.

www.11alive.com

So, two missing, one found deceased in the water, one remains missing. But the boat was upright, running in circles, & had life jackets, snacks, birthday cake slice, & a wallet on board.

And his shoes were found on the bank, but pretty far apart, if I'm remembering right.

 

[vls12345]

Looks like weather was in the 60s that day. Likely too cool for swimming:

https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/USGA0422:1:US

I tend to think accident, but I am surprised the boat was upright with things seemingly still in tact. Imo.

 

[vls12345]

And his shoes were found on the bank, but pretty far apart, if I'm remembering right.

Yes.

Last Friday, crews used a cadaver dog capable of detecting human remains from the water’s surface. The dog has successfully located bodies as deep as 50 feet in the past, but as of Friday, there was no sign of Jones.

On Monday afternoon, a wallet belonging to Jones, a coach and staff member at Westminster Schools in Atlanta, was discovered on the boat. Last Monday, Feb. 10, his shoes were found on the opposite side of the lake from where Wilson's body was recovered. The two shoes were about 15 yards apart, floating near the shoreline.

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[imstilla.grandma]

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said there’s an ‘infinite number’ of possibilities that could have happened.

As of now, authorities said they’re looking into possible foul play, which is standard protocol in these cases.

College professor found dead, teacher still missing after abandoned boat spotted circling lake

A college professor was found dead and a school coach is still missing after an empty boat was found circling Lake Oconee on Saturday, according to officials.

www.waff.com

 

[TwinkieDefense]

Feb 15, 2025 article - (even though the link shows as “unavailable “ on my iPad, I can still click on it to access the article).

Sheriff says there are ‘some peculiarities’ in case of missing teacher on Lake Oconee

It's been a week since Gary Jones and Joycelyn Wilson vanished on Lake Oconee.

www.wsbtv.com

[…]

“There are some peculiarities about all of it, which I’m not going to elaborate on at this time,” Sheriff Sills told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims.

[…]

 

[TwinkieDefense]

Feb 14, 2025 article

This website is unavailable in your location. – WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta

www.wsbtv.com

[…]

“The shoes were not laced or tied up tight. There’s no evidence on the shoes they reached the shore. There’s no red mud on the shoes, there’s not debris on the shoes and contrary to what everyone is saying - these shoes were found floating, they were not by each other. They were found 15-20 yards apart,” Sills said.

[…]

 

[vls12345]

Search continues for missing Atlanta teacher at Lake Oconee

Crews are going to be back out Monday morning trying to find the Atlanta teacher who vanished on Lake Oconee.

www.atlantanewsfirst.com

At 11 a.m. Monday, a volunteer group returned to the water and searched on foot, saying on Facebook: “The priority remains: we are going to find Gary and bring him home.”

Sills said they’re looking into possible foul play, which is standard protocol in these cases. He also said their investigation goes beyond the lake. They recently acquired phone records for both Wilson and Jones.

He said they are still working to find the missing teacher and figure out what happened in that boat.

“It was obviously running when they went out of it and she goes one place, maybe he’s trying to catch the boat, we don’t know,” Sills said. “There’s just an infinite number of possibilities that happened there.”

 

[tricia]

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[vls12345]

This is a small local newspaper:

Birthday cake, shoes, a circling boat: Mystery surrounds Westminster coach disappearance

Sonar technology, K-9 dogs used in search for Gary Jones after a boating incident on Lake Oconee on Feb. 8.

roughdraftatlanta.com

Multiple media reports say that Jones’ size 13 Nike shoes were found by a civilian on a shoreline about 15 yards apart from each other, but were not muddy, indicating that they had not had any contact with the lake bottom.

On Feb. 17, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said Wilson’s autopsy had raised questions, but declined to elaborate further.

“The complexion of the case has changed somewhat,” Sills told the AJC. “There are many other factors at work that I can’t really elaborate on at this time.”

Jones and Wilson first met 30 years ago as students at Clark Atlanta University. They were engaged to be married in March.

 

[vls12345]

'Where He Is, We Don't Know': Mystery Deepens as Search for Atlanta Teacher Intensifies After Fiancée’s Body, Boat, and His Shoes Are Discovered in Lake Oconee

An Atlanta private school teacher remains missing more than a week after his fiancée, a Spelman College instructor, was found dead in Lake Oconee —

atlantablackstar.com

Sills noted that those who alerted authorities about the drifting boat mentioned several children playing on a nearby dock. However, no one had reported hearing any screams or cries for help from the watercraft.

Sills added that the boat had later struck a dock. The next day, civilians discovered Wilson’s body about half a mile away.

Dive teams returned to Lake Oconee on Saturday morning to continue searching for Jones’ body, while officials said rain and wintry conditions have been the biggest obstacle in search efforts.

 

[vls12345]

Behind a paywall. But if you can access it, it does have an overview map (which I found helpful).

GDPR Support

 

[vls12345]

Interesting report/video report this evening.

Sheriff: Woman found dead on Lake Oconee had air in lungs that kept body afloat; Search continues in water for fiancé

The Putnam County sheriff said air found in Joycelyn Wilson’s lungs kept her body afloat in the lake. A week later, crews are still searching the lake for Gary Jones

www.11alive.com

While the full autopsy report on Wilson may take up to four months to complete, Sills revealed at least one key finding discovered during the examination. He said Wilson had air in her lungs at the time of recovery, a detail that could provide insight into what happened in the water.

and

The sheriff said Wilson was found with her phone still clutched in her hand. Sills said according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the phone was removed from her grasp upon recovery.

Further info in both the article & the video.

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[iamshadow21]

Interesting report/video report this evening.

Sheriff: Woman found dead on Lake Oconee had air in lungs that kept body afloat; Search continues in water for fiancé

The Putnam County sheriff said air found in Joycelyn Wilson’s lungs kept her body afloat in the lake. A week later, crews are still searching the lake for Gary Jones

www.11alive.com

and



Further info in both the article & the video.

11Alive

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That's kinda suggesting to me that she didn't drown, and maybe her hand was in rigor when she went in the water. Otherwise, there's no way a phone would stay there.

MOO

 

[vls12345]

That's kinda suggesting to me that she didn't drown, and maybe her hand was in rigor when she went in the water. Otherwise, there's no way a phone would stay there.

MOO

I am thinking along the same lines. Both items/facts seem strange. Imo.

 

[vls12345]

That's kinda suggesting to me that she didn't drown, and maybe her hand was in rigor when she went in the water. Otherwise, there's no way a phone would stay there.

MOO

I keep thinking about this, the fact that her phone was in her hand. And I agree that maybe her hand was in rigor when she went in the water. But how long does it take for rigor to set in? Iirc, articles have said that security cams show them putting the boat in the water at 3:30pm. At 5:30pm, other boaters reported an empty boat (& nobody around that they could see in the immediate area). Her body was found at 9:30am the following morning. If something happened to her between 3:30 & 5:30pm, would that be enough time for rigor to set in? Or does this somehow change the timeline or open up other possibilities (like she was somewhere else for at least part of the time between the empty boat being seen at 5:30pm& her body being found at 9:30am, maybe on land briefly somewhere)? Imo.

 

[vls12345]

Search for missing Atlanta teacher is largest recovery effort ever on Lake Oconee

Crews were out on the water Monday deploying 360-degree sonar at the bottom of the lake to help with the search.

www.wsbtv.com

Sills said the cowl was off the top of the motor but the motor was running when the boat was discovered with no passengers, according to witnesses.

“All the evidence points that Gary Jones is somewhere in Lake Oconee,” Sills said.

Putnam County Sheriff’s Detective James Turk said Saturday a search dog alerted four or five times in one area.