LAKE OCONEE — The search for Gary Jones, a beloved metro Atlanta coach and physics teacher at Westminster Schools, came to a tragic end Sunday. Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills confirmed that Jones’ body was found in Lake Oconee around noon, approximately 45 feet underwater and 100 yards from where his fiancée, Joycelyn Wilson, had been found a month earlier.
Gary Jones, known for his role as the track and field coach at Westminster, had been missing for 29 days. The extensive search began after Jones’ empty fishing boat, along with his sneakers, were discovered floating near the Wallace Dam, which separates Lake Oconee from Lake Sinclair.
Wilson’s body was recovered a month earlier near the same area. The couple had launched their two-seater boat from Fish Tale Marina on February 8. They were planning to spend the night at The Lodge on Lake Oconee, a getaway that turned tragic when their boat was later found drifting, empty, near the dam. Joycelyn Wilson, a math instructor at Spelman College, was found the next day, clutching her phone in her right hand. Her cause of death has not yet been released.
Jones’ body was discovered by Keith Cormican, a Wisconsin-based search-and-recovery expert who had been brought in by the Jones family. Cormican’s sonar expertise, honed over 13 years, allowed him to search the challenging waters of Lake Oconee, where standing underwater timber made the recovery mission extremely difficult.
“It’s an underwater forest,” Cormican said, describing the obstacles his sonar equipment encountered as he maneuvered through the lake’s depths. Despite these challenges, he was able to locate Jones’ body on Sunday by employing a methodical, back-and-forth search pattern.
The body, dressed in a Westminster Wildcats shirt and denim jacket, was brought to the surface around 1 p.m. Sheriff Sills remarked that the 29-day search was the longest he’d ever experienced in his decades-long career.
Michael Jones, Gary’s older brother, expressed both heartbreak and relief after the discovery. He asked for continued prayers for the family and urged the tragedy to serve as a reminder of the importance of water safety.
“Please keep praying for us,” Michael said. “We hope this will bring attention to safety resources that can prevent something like this from happening again.”
The couple’s ill-fated boat trip on February 8 was meant to be a romantic getaway ahead of their planned wedding on March 14. Witnesses reported seeing their boat near Wallace Dam before it ran out of gas, drifting without anyone aboard.
Westminster Schools President Keith Evans shared his sorrow in an email to the school community, mourning the loss of a cherished coach and teacher.
“While we have expected this news, the finality of this tragic loss is heartbreaking,” Evans wrote. “Please join me in praying for Gary’s children and family as they cope with this tragedy.”
The search has now come to an end, but the community is left grappling with the loss of two educators who touched countless lives.