Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department Gives Update on Found Remains

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department is still awaiting forensic information regarding human remains that were found washed up on the shores of Douglas Lake in Dandridge during the second week of March. While the local Sheriff’s Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigations are treating the death as a homicide, many of the answers that they are looking for will hopefully come when the forensics work is complete.

Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Coffey stated Friday, March 29,2019 that his department checked a few days ago and it appears that forensic information is still at least a couple of weeks away. The Sheriff said that they are anticipating the discovery of the cause of death, race and age of the victim, as well as other information that could assist in identifying the male victim. Despite rumors to the contrary, Sheriff Coffey said that there have been no other discoveries of body parts. Both the Sheriff’s Department and the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency had boats in the water after the initial discovery but nothing has turned up to date.

It is still unclear if the remains were initially tossed in Douglas Lake or ended up there due to the significant flooding that occurred in the region around that time. The Sheriff said that there are no missing person cases in Jefferson County that fit and a body has washed from as far away as Greene County to Henderson Island on Douglas Lake in the past so it is a possibility that flooding transported the remains to the shores of the local lake. What they do have to go on is a Walking Dead t-shirt, jeans, a belt that has the embossed name Gerald and a belt buckle. So far, there have been no tips from the community on the possible identification and there are no visible tattoos to aid in identification. Those that may have information that could assist in identification should contact the Jefferson Count Sheriff’s Department or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations.

The link to the TBI press release that includes pictures of the belt, buckle and clothing can be found here: https://tbinewsroom.com/2019/03/20/publics-help-requested-in-identifying-body-found-in-jefferson-county/