Body of East Tennessee deputy Robert 'R.J.' Leonard discovered

The body of an East Tennessee deputy missing after his vehicle went into the Tennessee River while he was taking a woman to the county jail has been discovered. His remains were escorted to the Knoxville Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.

Deputy Robert "R.J." Leonard, a rookie with the Meigs County Sheriff's Office, was called to the scene of a disturbance Wednesday night on the Highway 60 bridge near the Birchwood Community.

District Attorney General Russell Johnson said Thursday during a news conference that Leonard arrived at the scene at 9:48 p.m.

"Cell phone service in this neck of the woods is not good and radio communications are not as we've found out," Johnson said.

Three minutes after his arrival, Leonard was on his way to the county jail.

"The next communication happened approximately 12 minutes later at 10:03 p.m.," Johnson said. "And there was a radio communication that had come out and dispatch couldn't tell what he was saying."

Using voice analysis tools, investigators believe Leonard said "water" in the radio communication to dispatchers.

At the same time, his wife received a one-word text message that read "arrest," Johnson said. She responded back, though his phone never got the message.

Dispatchers began their evening check-in with all deputies and officers on the road.

"Every deputy or officer that was out checked in and said they were ok, but not Deputy Leonard," Johnson said. "So for the next several hours, as surrounding agencies learned what was going on, began responding to this area."

Given the deputy's proximity to the river when he responded to the disturbance, the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency began a visual sweep of the water. His phone also pinged in the area of the river, Johnson said.

"They think at the end of Blythe Ferry Road they have identified a vehicle in the water," Johnson said.

Thursday afternoon, authorities confirmed the vehicle in the water was Leonard's patrol car.

"The vehicle was nose in, but upside down, wheels up," Johnson said.

The woman Leonard detained was found in the backseat. She has not been publicly identified.

Leonard was not found in the vehicle, but Johnson said the driver's window was down.

"We still don't think the outcome is going to be good for Deputy Leonard," Johnson said.

Meigs County Sheriff Jackie Melton was visibly shaken by the ordeal, keeping his head down at times while he talked and taking deep breaths in between.

"Deputy Leonard had been on the force about two months," he said. "He was doing a pretty good job. A really good job. It's just hard when the department is like a family."

Melton asked for prayers for Leonard's family.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Body of missing Meigs County deputy R.J.' Leonard found in Tennessee