Couple Checked into Hotel for Birthday Celebration Before Woman Died and Man Disappeared on Lake: Police
The body of Joycelyn Nicole Wilson was found in Lake Oconee, while Gary Jones remains missing after their boat was found empty
The body of Joycelyn Nicole Wilson was found in Lake Oconee, while Gary Jones remains missing after their boat was found empty
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/gary-l-jones-Joycelyn-Nicole-Wilson-georgia-boat-021225-0927a4bb19db44aea7106215baf399b2.jpg "Joycelyn Nicole Wilson")
Gary L. Jones/Facebook; Spelman College Gary Jones, left, and Joycelyn Nicole Wilson, right
New details are emerging after a woman was found dead and a man remained missing after their boat was found empty on a Georgia lake.
The body of Joycelyn Nicole Wilson, a 49-year-old instructor at Spelman College in Atlanta, was recovered on Sunday, Feb. 9 in Lake Oconee, officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources previously said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
Her body was located after the boat was found circling near Wallace Dam on Saturday, Feb. 8, authorities said. A second person, identified as Gary Jones, a track and field coach for a local private school, remained missing.
Jones and Wilson had checked into a hotel near the lake for Jones’ birthday that Saturday, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said, according to NBC affiliate WXIA-TV.
A childhood friend of Wilson's recently told CBS affiliate WANF that the pair attended Clark Atlanta University together and had gotten engaged after reconnecting.
Related: Missing Woman, 29, Found Dead in Water After Vanishing in Freezing Weather Conditions: Police
The couple traveled about seven miles in the 12-foot boat, which was found by other boaters in the middle of Lake Oconee’s river channel, Sills said.
The boat was later found to have struck a dock, he added. The next day, civilians located Wilson’s body a half mile away.
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Google Maps Lake Oconee in Georgia, where Wilson was found dead on Sunday, Feb. 9
Jones’ shoes were reportedly floating about 15 feet apart near the shoreline on Monday, Feb. 10, according to WXIA-TV. The search for him remains ongoing.
A cadaver dog trained to detect bodies underwater was expected to be deployed on Friday, Feb. 14, Sills said. The dog previously found remains 50 feet below the surface, Sills said.
"In my career, I've never seen this many people searching on Lake Oconee or Lake Sinclair," the sheriff added.
An investigation into the incident is also ongoing. A cause of death for Wilson has not been released.
