Cajun Navy, cadaver dog, joins search for missing man

After the search for a Westminster coach who disappeared after a Lake Oconee boating incident that left his companion dead, was suspended because of weather, theories about the victim’s cause of death are circulating.

Details have slowly leaked out after a 11-foot Sun Dolphin boat belonging to Jones, 50, was found in Lake Oconee during the afternoon of Feb. 8. The body of his fiancée, Joycelyn Wilson, 49, a math instructor at Spelman, was discovered by GNR game wardens on Sunday, Feb. 9.

Multiple media reports say that Wilson was still holding her cell phone in her right hand when she was pulled from the waters, and a preliminary autopsy reported that she still had oxygen in her lungs.

Jones’ size 13 Nike shoes were found by a civilian near 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.

One theory reportedly under consideration is that the Wilson may fallen from the boat and died of hypothermia, which can, according to experts, happen quickly in water with temperatures below 50 degrees. Lake Oconee water temperatures in February typically range from 42-48 degrees.

According to Ace Boater, in 45-degree water, a person would suffer from exhaustion or be unconscious within 30 minutes of exposure and succumb to death within one to three hours.

The process would be hastened if the victim is not wearing protective clothing, has exposed skin or isn’t using a floatation device. According to emedicine Health, people die of hypothermia faster in water than in air, “because water has a high thermal conductivity that can cool a person at least 24-times faster than air.” 

At the time of the incident, the National Weather Service reported that the air temperature was about 74 degrees.

Investigators said they found floatation devices in the abandoned boat, but indicated Wilson was not wearing one.

An autopsy is underway, but it may be four months until Wilson’s cause of death is officially determined.

Wilson’s funeral service will be held Thursday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. at Zion Hill Baptist Church.

On Feb. 18, it was reported that a cadaver dog and a volunteer with the United Cajun Navy was joining in the search.

The United Cajun Navy, according to its website, is a group of volunteers who work to provide immediate rescue and relief. Their scope of services include disaster relief, debris clearing, and search and rescue.

There is a laundry list of agencies searching for Jones, a Westminster teacher and coach that includes the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, volunteer groups, Georgia State Patrol, and the State Patrol dive team.

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. 

Jones’ family released a statement on Feb. 16 thanking the public and rescue teams for their work in trying to locate him, first reported by WSB-TV, saying that the experience has “been a horrendous experience for our family, but we will not rest until he is found.”

“We are following all developing leads in the events surrounding his disappearance. However, our most important focus now are the multi-faceted search efforts in water and on land,” the statement continued. “We would like to thank all the family, friends, volunteers, fishermen, officials and anyone else who are joining in the search efforts. We have unwavering faith in God that Gary will be found and that more details will be brought to light. While we are enduring this difficult process we ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy. Again, we sincerely thank you.”

An Instagram post from GNR at 11 a.m. on Feb. 14 said investigators are “using sonar-side scan and sector scan SONAR, aviation, and will also be conducting surface and shoreline sweeps.”

Sonar-side scan, according to NOAA Ocean Exploration, is “a category of active sonar system for detecting and imaging objects on the seafloor. The multiple physical sensors of the sonar — called a transducer array — send and receive the acoustic pulses that help map the seafloor or detect other objects.”

A sector scan utilizes reverberation to detect targets.

Sills told the AJC video footage shows the couple launching the boat from Fish Tale Marina at a ramp along Ga. 44. The site is across the Lick Creek branch of the lake and The Lodge on Lake Oconee, where the couple had been staying, according to Sills.

“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.”

Wilson was a senior instructor in the Department of Mathematics at Spelman College. Jones and Wilson first met 30 years ago as students at Clark Atlanta University. They were engaged to be married in March.

Lake Oconee is about 84 miles east of Atlanta.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.