Officials announced on Thursday evening that the body of a missing deputy sheriff from eastern Tennessee, Meigs County Deputy Robert “R.J.” Leonard, had been located.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s office confirmed the recovery of Deputy Leonard’s body and reported that it was being escorted to the Knoxville Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.

Video footage captured numerous law enforcement motorcycles and vehicles, with lights flashing, proceeding down a darkened road.

The search for Deputy Leonard commenced on Wednesday night after he lost contact with Meigs County dispatch, as reported by WDEF in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

District Attorney Russell Johnson, in an earlier news conference, disclosed that Leonard had made an arrest and was en route to the county jail, CBS News reported.

Subsequently, it was revealed that a handcuffed woman’s body was found in the vehicle, although her identity is yet to be confirmed, according to reports from WDEF.

Chief Deputy Brian Malone of the Meigs County Sheriff’s Department said, “Deputy Leonard was only here for a couple of months, but he had become a part of our family.”

Written by B.C. Begley