A Tennessee sheriff’s deputy who went missing Wednesday night after making his first arrest was found dead on Thursday, hours after his patrol car was recovered from the Tennessee River.
Deputy Robert “R.J.” Leonard texted his wife a single word – “arrest” – around 10:00 p.m. Wednesday evening, NBC News reported. Just before he texted her, he notified dispatchers that he had arrested someone and was taking them to the Meigs County Jail, District Attorney General Russell Johnson said at a press conference Thursday morning.
About 12 minutes after Leonard contacted dispatchers about the arrest, he again reached out and said something that couldn’t be determined over the radio. Authorities, using analytics, said Leonard maybe have said “water.”
Leonard’s wife received his text message, but he never received her response.
Authorities used the wife’s Life360…
