Atlanta, GA
Divers, dogs amp up search for missing Atlanta teacher on Lake Oconee
PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. – The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office launched its largest search effort yet at Lake Oconee on Saturday in an attempt to locate Gary Jones. The Atlanta teacher has been missing since Feb. 8.
What we know:
Jones was last seen on the lake with his fiancée, Joycelyn Wilson, in a small fishing boat. Her body was discovered on Feb. 9, but Jones remains missing.
The search operation included eight divers and several cadaver dog teams from Florida and Georgia, working alongside Putnam County sheriff’s deputies and a Department of Natural Resources helicopter.
The search teams also utilized sonar to investigate. Despite conducting 11 dives on nine identified targets, they found no traces of Jones anywhere.
Gary Jones (Credit: Westminster Athletics)
Conditions worsen during search for Gary Jones
What they’re saying:
“Today was the biggest effort we put forth yet, really, as far as number of people,” said Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills. “I’ve been a police officer of some sort for over 50 years, and this is the biggest effort I’ve ever seen on a drowning case like this to recover a body. We’ve got people here from South Carolina, from Georgia, from Florida.”
Buck Buchanan of Dive 9-1-1 said murky lake waters offered less than a foot of visibility.
“We have almost less than a foot of visibility. So if you put your hand out in front of you, squint real hard in a dark closet,” Buchanan explained.
High winds, with gusts reaching up to 30 miles per hour, also further complicated the search.
“They said we’ve had like 30 miles an hour gusts. It looks like we’ve got about 25 miles an hour sustained right now. So, it’s become kind of impossible for the dogs to work,” Sills noted.
Laurence Walker of the United Cajun Navy described how the winds created swells up to two feet high, affecting the accuracy of sonar equipment.
“The waves bouncing up and down. It makes the sonar not that accurate, too, because it’s just like holding the camera, like trying to take a picture. With the camera jumping up and down so you get blurred images,” Walker said.
Gary Jones’ students reach out
What we know:
Earlier this week, some of Jones’ students sent thank-you cards to the search and rescue teams. Walker expressed how these gestures of gratitude motivate the volunteers.
“I got three of them, and I read one, and it took me a couple of days to read the second. And that’s the reason I’m here, man,” he said.
What’s next:
The search teams plan to resume their efforts at 7 a.m. Sunday, hoping for calmer winds and potentially more divers joining the search.
Search efforts continue at Lake Oconee for Gary Jones on March 1, 2025.
What happened to Gary Jones?
The backstory:
Gary Jones and his fiancée, Joycelyn Wilson, were celebrating his 50th birthday when they vanished.
The couple had checked into a hotel near Lake Oconee before heading straight to the water.
Approximately two hours later, boaters discovered their empty fishing boat idling on the lake, setting off a widespread search operation.
Authorities are treating this as a death investigation as they work to determine what happened.
Wilson’s body was found dead in the water on Feb. 9, near where Jones’ shoes and personal belongings were recovered.
The Source: FOX 5 Atlanta reporter Eric Mock interviewed the search teams helping look for missing teacher Gary Jones at Lake Oconee on March 1, 2025.Information for this story came from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Dive 911 and the United Cajun Navy along with previous reports from Fox 5 Atlanta.
ATLANTA – A Mexican national will spend the next 30 years in federal prison for operating clandestine methamphetamine laboratories across the Atlanta area, federal officials announced Wednesday.
What we know:
Ramiro Contreras-Sandoval, 41, of Michoacán, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross following his conviction for running conversion labs that housed more than 135 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine hidden in paint buckets. Contreras-Sandoval, who also went by several aliases including Manuel Santiago Vazquez and “Mirin,” was also convicted of possessing firearms as an illegal alien to protect his drug trafficking operation.
The investigation began in April 2019, when law enforcement seized the methamphetamine mixture from a conversion lab in Morrow, Georgia. Contreras-Sandoval and his co-defendant, Genaro Davalos-Pulido, fled the area after a vehicle they were using to transport the drugs was stopped by police.
The pair remained at large until the fall of 2021, when agents tracked them to a neighborhood in Norcross, Georgia. During a search of a Norcross residence, agents discovered a full-scale liquid meth operation, a loaded Beretta handgun, $84,000 in cash, and a .50-caliber rifle that appeared ready for shipment to Mexico. Contreras-Sandoval was arrested nearby with approximately $12,000 in his vehicle and pockets.
What they’re saying:
“This case should send a clear message to anyone thinking about running drugs or using deadly weapons to protect their operation: the federal government will relentlessly seek justice and protect the community from drug traffickers,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
“Operating methamphetamine labs is a reckless and dangerous crime,” said Jae W. Chung, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “This conviction underscores that DEA will aggressively pursue anyone who engages in drug trafficking activities that put lives at risk.”
What’s next:
Contreras-Sandoval’s 30-year sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release. His co-defendant, Davalos-Pulido, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in October 2024.
The Source: The U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office provided the details for this article.
Highlights include a musical from Alicia Keys, Atlanta Jewish Storytelling Festival, ‘Twelfth Night.’
The Lawrenceville Symphony Orchestra will perform works of Johann Strauss II and George Gershwin (featuring pianist Anna Keiserman) on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Lawrenceville Symphony Orchestra)
By Mary Caldwell – For the AJC
2 hours ago
From theater to music and dance to visual arts, the metro Atlanta area has a busy arts scene offering something for nearly everyone. This week, happenings include a Lawrenceville Symphony Orchestra performance featuring the iconic works of Johann Strauss II and George Gershwin as well as the second annual Atlanta Jewish Storytelling Festival. This weekly roundup will help you explore Atlanta’s arts and culture over the coming seven days.
“Hell’s Kitchen,” singer Alicia Keys’ autobiographical musical, continues at the Fox Theatre through Sunday. (Photo by Marc J. Franklin)
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New York storyteller Laura Sims leads workshops and performs stories on Saturday and Sunday during the Atlanta Jewish Storytelling Festival at The Breman. (Photo courtesy of The Breman)
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“The Family Album of Ralph Eugene Meatyard” is on view at the High Museum of Art through May 10. (Photo courtesy of the High Museum of Art)
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Sandler Hudson Gallery hosts “primary,” a solo exhibition featuring the works of Georgia artist Betsy Cain through Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Sandler Hudson Gallery)
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ATLANTA – New leadership is taking the helm at Atlanta City Hall as Council President Marci Collier Overstreet begins her term with a fresh slate of committee assignments for the new year.
Why you should care:
The appointments come at a high-stakes moment for the city’s chief policy-making board. Atlanta is preparing for a global spotlight in 2026, serving as a host city for the FIFA World Cup and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl College Football Playoff game.
What we know:
While Collier Overstreet reshuffled most of the council’s leadership, the Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee remains under the direction of District 10 Councilwoman Andrea Boone. The influential committee oversees the police and fire departments, the Law Department and the Atlanta Citizen Review Board.
The remaining committee chairs for 2026 include:
- City Utilities: District 9 Councilman Dustin Hillis will oversee solid waste, sanitation, watershed and public works.
- Community Development and Human Services: Post 2 At-Large Councilman Matt Westmoreland will preside over parks and recreation, the Atlanta Housing Authority and the Mayor’s Office of Film, Entertainment and Nightlife.
- Transportation: District 6 Councilman Alex Wan will lead the committee dealing with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, MARTA and the Atlanta Regional Commission.
- Zoning: District 8 Councilwoman Mary Norwood will handle matters related to subdivisions, zoning and sign ordinances.
- Finance/Executive: District 1 Councilman Jason Winston will oversee contract compliance, human resources, finance and procurement.
- Committee on Council: District 3 Councilman Byron Amos will chair the committee presiding over council operations, the Office of Research and Policy and the Office of the Municipal Clerk.
The new president expressed confidence that this leadership team would ensure the city’s future remains inclusive.
The Source: This is a FOX 5 original report from Aungelique Proctor.
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