Search For Gary Jones At Lake Oconee: GA Authorities Face Challenges

PUTNAM COUNTY, GA — Georgia authorities say they are still searching for a Westminster School coach who disappeared nearly three weeks ago at Lake Oconee.

The search for Gary Jones remains ongoing after he disappeared with the late Spelman College instructor Joycelyn Nicole Wilson on Feb. 8 at the lake, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division told Patch on Tuesday.

The massive size of the 19,000-acre Lake Oconee creates challenges for authorities conducting the search. Authorities said they are also battling dense timber and large boulders in several areas of the lake.

The DNR previously told Patch that weather was a factor in the hunt for Jones. Four days after Jones disappeared, Georgia endured rounds of rainfall.

Search efforts include the use of patrol boats with SONAR technology, a specialized vessel equipped with TowFish SONAR and aviation units, authorities said.

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills previously told Patch cadaver dogs were utilized Saturday.

Volunteers from Georgia and neighboring states have joined to assist both state and local authorities with the search for Jones, the DNR said.

Wilson and Jones, both 49-year-olds from Atlanta, disappeared at the lake while celebrating Jones' 50th birthday, 11Alive previously reported.

Multiple media outlets have reported the pair was engaged.

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Investigators previously told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Jones and Wilson were possibly en route to a restaurant at the lake and could have been on the small boat for about 90 minutes.

Authorities found Wilson, who had air in her lungs, holding her cellphone and located Jones' shoes in the water, the AJC previously reported.

"The circumstances in this case indicate it's not just a simple drowning," Sills said in the report.

The sheriff has not indicated to Patch that foul play is suspected in the disappearance of Jones or the death of Wilson.

Jones' family on Sunday released a statement to WSB-TV. It read in part:

"This 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. ... 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. ..."

According to her obituary, Wilson was a 1993 graduate of Benjamin E. Mays High School. She went on to graduate from Clark-Atlanta University, where she received a bachelor's and master's degree.

She earned a second bachelor's degree while at the University of Maryland, according to her obituary.

Before moving on to become a senior professor at Spelman, where she taught for 17 years, Wilson was a professor at Howard University and the University of Maryland, her obituary stated.

A memorial for Wilson was held Saturday at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Atlanta. Clark-Atlanta has established the Joycelyn Wilson Memorial Scholarship in her honor, her obituary stated.

"She was a source of inspiration and joy in their lives, as well as in the lives of her friends and colleagues," read her obituary.

Lake Oconee is split between Greene, Morgan, Hancock and Putnam counties.