MEIGS COUNTY, Tenn. — Funeral arrangements have been announced for fallen Meigs County Deputy Robert "RJ" Leonard.
A funeral service will be held in the Meigs County High School gymnasium at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19. Interment will be held in the Decatur Cemetery at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20, according to an obituary from the Decatur Funeral Home and Cremation Services.
The family will receive friends from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. before the service.
According to WRCB in Chattanooga, a funeral procession will depart from Decatur Funeral Home at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Due to limited parking at the cemetery, community members and first responders are asked to line the processional route to honor Deputy Leonard.
The funeral procession will take the following route:
- Leave Decatur Funeral Home on Arrants Road at 12:15 p.m.
- From Arrants Road they will merge right on River Road and then Left on Highway 58
- From Highway 58 the procession will turn right on Z Street and then right on Main Street
- From Main Street, the procession will turn right onto Abel Avenue and take the 2nd entrance into the Decatur Cemetery
There will only be parking available for family and friends at the cemetery. Anyone else attending the graveside service will need to park outside of the cemetery and walk in.
Deputy Leonard went missing while driving Tabitha Smith to jail Wednesday night. Hours later, the deputy's patrol car was recovered from the Tennessee River. Investigators found Smith's body in the back seat.
"It's a hard time here for us today," Meigs County Sheriff's Office Chief Brian Malone said in a press conference Thursday. "Something we don't ever deal with here in Meigs County. We're a small, rural county, we're not used to it."
Crews then found Leonard's remains several hours later. Investigators believe he accidentally drove off a boat ramp on Blythe Ferry Lane.
The incident remains under investigation.