Body Of Missing Nashville Firefighter Found

WAVERLY, TN -- After 12 days of searching, the body of missing Nashville firefighter Jesse Reed was discovered by a fisherman in the Tennessee River Saturday.

Humphreys County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Rob Edwards said the body will be brought to Nashville for an autopsy.

His body was found by a participant in a bass fishing tournament in a cove near where his Jeep was discovered submerged in 10 feet of water March 6.

Humphreys County deputies, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and other agencies across the state, had been searching for Reed since he was reported missing. Reed's wife, Ellen, told police she and her husband drove off secluded Bluff Point Lane in Waverly, about 85 miles west of Nashville, and into the Tennessee River.

Reed's wife escaped and while searchers found the submerged truck March 6, there had been no sign of Reed in the water or otherwise. The truck was in 10 feet of water with its windows down when it was discovered.
Deputies searched two homes owned by Reed March 9 in what Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said was an effort to exhaust all means to locate the 32-year-old.

Earlier this week, Davis told WSMV that Ellen Reed's involvement with the investigation had been "minimal."

Davis said that there was a "delay" between the time the vehicle went in the water and when the 911 call was made.

"Some of the things that happened in the initial onset was a little different to us," Davis told Fox 17. "My understanding is from the investigators on scene that night there was a little bit of a delay of the initial call from the time of the incident."

Also this week, NewsChannel 5 reported that sources said investigators are at least exploring the possibility of foul play and also that there may be a connection between Reed's disappearance and the suicide of a NFD EMT earlier this month.

Despite the questions, the women who helped Ellen Reed after the incident are certain nothing nefarious was happening.

Joyce Dunaway, who lives across the street from the Reeds in Waverly, told Fox 17 she saw the couple leave their home at 10:30 p.m. and then woke up to Ellen Reed banging on her door three hours later with the back of her shirt wet.

"She kept saying 'help me, help me'," Dunaway told the station. "My daughter opened the door, and she came in and she just sat right down. She didn't fall. She sat, and my daughter immediately called 911. She just kept saying 'oh my husband, my husband' and was in shock, strictly in shock. She was in a terrible shape, freezing, barefoot."

Tamera Patrick told WSMV said Ellen Reed was genuinely upset.

"We know what happened in this house when she came in that night," she said. "From all I saw and how she was acting, to me, I believe everything she said."

Nashville Fire Chief William Swann issued a statement Saturday afternoon.

“My heart is heavy and I grieve for the loss of our brother Firefighter Jesse Reed. I want to commend and thank the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office and all the volunteers from near and far who came to search for Jesse. Every day Jesse came on shift he put his life on the line to serve the people of Nashville and to make sure that his fellow firefighters were safe. Our prayers go to Firefighter Reed’s wife and his entire family. ”

Photo via Nashville Fire Department