– Mother drowns alongside deputy during arrest
– Tragic drowning incident involving mother of two and deputy.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
![\"Tabitha](\"https://am24.mediaite.com/lc/cnt/uploads/2024/02/Smith-and-Leonard.jpg\")
Main image: A former landing on Blythe Ferry Lane (Google Maps); Inset left: Tabitha Smith (Selfie); Inset right: Deputy RJ Leonard (Meigs County Sheriff’s Office).
A sheriff’s deputy and a woman he had recently arrested met a tragic end together, drowning in a river after taking a wrong turn in Tennessee, state officials revealed.
Robert John “R.J.” Leonard, Jr., 35, had relocated to rural Tennessee from upstate New York with his family just a few months prior, according to 9th Judicial District Attorney General Russell Johnson.
The events of that fateful night are shrouded in uncertainty.
Leonard had responded to a call about a disturbance on the bridge over the Hiwassee River. The call reported either “a man jumping in and out of traffic” or “a man and a woman on the bridge in a dispute,” the DA disclosed.
Arriving at the scene at 9:48 p.m. on Feb. 14, Leonard quickly made an arrest and headed towards the Meigs County Jail. The specifics of the arrest were not disclosed, nor was the identity of the arrestee.
Shortly after, at 10:03 p.m., another radio transmission from the deputy’s patrol car was received, with indecipherable content, according to Johnson at a press conference.
Following the transmission, a series of status checks were initiated by the county dispatch, and multiple law enforcement agencies began searching for Leonard.
The deputy’s patrol car was discovered near the Blythe Ferry boat ramp the next morning, with the deputy missing initially.
Although the ferry landing has been disused since 1994, private individuals still use it to launch boats. The location, especially at night, poses a hazard due to the lack of signage and traffic control measures.
“It can be a very dangerous spot for folks that aren’t local,” Judge Casey Stokes remarked at a press conference.
Leonard, being unfamiliar with the area, likely missed the turn and ended up in the river due to distractions, Johnson stated at a subsequent press conference.
The district attorney revealed that the patrol car was found nose-in and upside down, with the trunk affected by water pressure.
The woman found in the back seat was identified as Tabitha Smith, 35, a mother of two. She was handcuffed and trapped in the vehicle as it submerged.
Smith’s friends expressed shock and sorrow at the tragedy.
“She was a vibrant person, full of life,” said her friend Sheena Mchome to CBS affiliate WVLT. “I can’t imagine the fear she must have felt in her final moments.”
Leonard, a father of five, was recovered from the river by Meigs County EMS and Rescue Squad with assistance from dive teams from neighboring counties the following day.
Johnson later clarified that Leonard was shouting “water” as he drowned.
The details surrounding Smith’s final moments remain unknown.
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Mother of two drowns alongside deputy
Mother of two drowns with arresting officer.
