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

All moo. But has anyone considered the husband is not in the lake? No other items of clothing have been found other than his shoes. Could he have survived the accident? Could he have faked his own death? Are there any other persons gone missing in the lake and not been found? Just questions I'm pondering 🤔
 
All moo. But has anyone considered the husband is not in the lake? No other items of clothing have been found other than his shoes. Could he have survived the accident? Could he have faked his own death? Are there any other persons gone missing in the lake and not been found? Just questions I'm pondering 🤔
Fiance.

After reading what the Sheriff had to say about the difficulties faced in locating Gary, no. IMO, he just hasn't been located in the water yet.
 
All moo. But has anyone considered the husband is not in the lake? No other items of clothing have been found other than his shoes. Could he have survived the accident? Could he have faked his own death? Are there any other persons gone missing in the lake and not been found? Just questions I'm pondering 🤔
I'd gone there. If he turns up in the search, fine, but if this stretches on for months with no body? Yeah.

MOO
 

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Obituary​

Joycelyn Nicole Wilson, aged 49, passed away on February 9, 2025. Born on May 7, 1975, Atlanta, Georgia, Joycelyn was a cherished member of the Wilson family and the local community.

Educated in the Atlanta Public School System, Joycelyn graduated from Benjamin E. Mays High School in 1993. She furthered her education at Clark-Atlanta University, earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, laying a strong foundation for her future career in academia. She also attended the University of Maryland, earning a second master’s degree. Joycelyn served as a professor at Howard University and the University of Maryland in Washington, DC, before serving as a Senior Professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia for the last seventeen years.

A life-long and faithful member of Zion Hill Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Joycelyn was deeply involved in her community and spiritual life. She was a member of the Voices of Oluwa choir and the New Disciples Ministry. Her hobbies included skydiving, flying airplanes, reading, dining, hosting game nights with friends, attending every New Edition concert she could, rooting for the Atlanta Braves, and traveling the world, reflecting her adventurous spirit and love for learning.

Joycelyn is survived by her loving parents, Dr. & Mrs. Archie (Linda) Wilson of Atlanta, GA; her sisters, Mrs. Sophia Matthews (Angelo), Ms. Arciae Wilson, and Mrs. Gayla Roberts (Felix), all of Atlanta, GA, her niece Lillian, of Atlanta, GA; aunts, uncles, and a host of cousins and extended family. She was a source of inspiration and joy in their lives, as well as in the lives of her friends and colleagues.

To support future generations in their academic pursuits, the Joycelyn Wilson Memorial Scholarship was established at Clark-Atlanta
University.

 

View attachment 567390

Obituary​

Joycelyn Nicole Wilson, aged 49, passed away on February 9, 2025. Born on May 7, 1975, Atlanta, Georgia, Joycelyn was a cherished member of the Wilson family and the local community.

Educated in the Atlanta Public School System, Joycelyn graduated from Benjamin E. Mays High School in 1993. She furthered her education at Clark-Atlanta University, earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, laying a strong foundation for her future career in academia. She also attended the University of Maryland, earning a second master’s degree. Joycelyn served as a professor at Howard University and the University of Maryland in Washington, DC, before serving as a Senior Professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia for the last seventeen years.

A life-long and faithful member of Zion Hill Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Joycelyn was deeply involved in her community and spiritual life. She was a member of the Voices of Oluwa choir and the New Disciples Ministry. Her hobbies included skydiving, flying airplanes, reading, dining, hosting game nights with friends, attending every New Edition concert she could, rooting for the Atlanta Braves, and traveling the world, reflecting her adventurous spirit and love for learning.

Joycelyn is survived by her loving parents, Dr. & Mrs. Archie (Linda) Wilson of Atlanta, GA; her sisters, Mrs. Sophia Matthews (Angelo), Ms. Arciae Wilson, and Mrs. Gayla Roberts (Felix), all of Atlanta, GA, her niece Lillian, of Atlanta, GA; aunts, uncles, and a host of cousins and extended family. She was a source of inspiration and joy in their lives, as well as in the lives of her friends and colleagues.

To support future generations in their academic pursuits, the Joycelyn Wilson Memorial Scholarship was established at Clark-Atlanta
University.

Hmmm....no mention of the fiance.

It sounds like she lived life to it's fullest. Such a tragedy.
 
All moo. But has anyone considered the husband is not in the lake? No other items of clothing have been found other than his shoes. Could he have survived the accident? Could he have faked his own death? Are there any other persons gone missing in the lake and not been found? Just questions I'm pondering 🤔
I guess he could have considered himself of faking his own death.. however he took a co-worker with him , and she died, that a murder . aLSO
I am under the impression that these two people are co workers.
 
I guess he could have considered himself of faking his own death.. however he took a co-worker with him , and she died, that a murder . aLSO
I am under the impression that these two people are co workers.
My mistake, not married but engaged as per this link

 

The Brief​

    • The search for missing Atlanta teacher Gary Jones at Lake Oconee has been partially suspended due to weather conditions.
    • Daily searches from the shore will continue by the Department of Natural Resources and Putnam County Sheriff's Office deputies.
    • Jones has been missing since Feb. 8, after disappearing from a boat with his fiancée, Joycelyn Nicole Wilson. Her body was found the next day.
    • Sheriff Sills expressed gratitude for the extensive community and resource support, noting it as one of the largest efforts he has seen in his 50-year career.
 
LAKE OCONEE, Ga. — The dive team search for missing teacher Gary Jones in Lake Oconee has been called off until further notice, according to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.

While the dive teams and cadaver dogs will not be used, Sills tells Channel 2 Action News that his office and the Deparment of Natural Resources will still be conducting shoreline and surface searches.

 
I hadn't realised that it was Gary's own boat. I suppose it makes sense to celebrate something by using your boat. Actually, I have never ever wanted to own a boat, a holiday home, a camper van, or anything of that sort. I would feel it my duty to get my moneys worth out of them.
 

investigators are also now turning to the U.S. Secret Service to unlock a potential key to the case: the cell phone of Jones' fiancée, Joycelyn Wilson.

Wilson’s body was recovered from Lake Oconee on Feb. 9, with her phone found clutched in her hand.

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said the device may hold critical clues about what happened to the couple on the afternoon of Feb. 8, but a passcode is preventing them from accessing its contents.

“We’ve extracted the data from her phone; however, it’s got a code on it,” Sheriff Sills said.

He added, “We know pictures were taken at certain times, but we can’t see them.”

Sills confirmed that the Secret Service is now working to bypass the lock, a move that could provide investigators with new evidence in the case.
and
Phone records obtained through search warrants show the couple's devices stopped transmitting signals in the same general area where their boat was initially spotted empty and idling in a circle on Feb 8.

“Where the boat was initially reported seen corresponds in the general area where phone records were showing us where the phones quit working,” Sills said.
 
I can't imagine why anyone would not wear a life jacket or a life vest... Or at least having one close. JMO.
It is all so odd, I think it was said that it was NOT that warm, going out a ways in such a small kind of boat, no life vest on and soon to be dusk. His wallet sitting on the boat seat. It seems that the boat did not really tip enough to toss the wallet about and I read the cake was also just fine. Just going by what I read here from wherever the sources are, news. Understand that they purposely went there with the boat for the water, the place they were staying, a getaway it was to be. Hard to figure how it happened to me, with the intact things inside the boat, unless she stood up and over she went quickly without disturbance. So far both of them. I read that the police noted that his shoelaces were not tied to begin with, maybe to hold them in his hands while he pushed the boat out, so did not tie them. Had them also sitting inside the boat and THEY managed to fly out but not the wallet and other things. Just a haste to get into the boat, the water once they got there before dark started. A terrible thing.
 
with respect to phone being found gripped in hand; one reason could be a cadaveric spasm, a rare phenomenon where rigor happens instantaneously, and is mostly reported in drowning, asphyxia, and electrocution deaths. its a very contentious topic (some pathologists believe it doesn't exist, some do, etc) but certainly a possibility IMO, and doesn't automatically make me believe that she was dead prior.
I have also personally seen a case of drowning w/ no edema in lungs due to laryngospasm (also called a 'dry drowning'). when i asked the MEO doing the case, she said it wasn't the majority but definitely not an unusual or rare finding.
 


and
Hopefully this will be the key needed to unlock the mystery. Whatever they find on Joycelyn's phone should give an indication of time. It will be interesting to see the very last activity, in reference to when the witnesses saw the boat spinning in circles and called 911 (5PM).

Here's the article with the timeline for reference - New details revealed in missing boater search
 
The obituary thing had to be difficult and awkward. In my mind, I'm wondering how this would be worded. There's no standard way to say that her fiance is missing and likely presumed dead. I wonder if they decided to just leave his name out as to not make things sound odd and to just keep her obituary more traditional?
 

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