Search for Missing Boater Intensifies After Woman Found Dead on Georgia Lake

Authorities are investigating the deaths of Joycelyn Wilson and Gary Jones, whose boat was found empty on Lake Oconee.

Joycelyn Nicole Wilson, a Spelman College instructor, was found dead in Lake Oconee on February 9, while her boating partner, Gary Jones, remains missing.
The couple’s empty boat was discovered circling near Wallace Dam on February 8, leading to a large-scale search operation involving sonar, drones, and cadaver dogs.
Jones, a track and field coach, and Wilson had launched their boat from a marina before their vessel traveled approximately seven miles on the lake.
Authorities have ruled out a simple drowning and are treating the case as a death investigation, with an autopsy pending to determine Wilson’s cause of death.
Search efforts for Jones have included government and private resources, with his shoes found floating near the shoreline earlier this week.