Body Found After Search in Tennessee River

Posted on: 6:23 am, February 13, 2013, by Ty Watwood and Robert Reeves, updated on: 08:58am, February 13, 2013

Photo by Tim Hanson, WHNT News 19

MADISON/MORGAN County Line (WHNT) — Emergency crews found a woman’s body in the Tennessee River Wednesday morning.

Crews were originally treating it as a search and rescue operation. The body was found four hours after the initial emergency call.

Around 4:00 a.m. Wednesday crews responded to the Whitesburg Bridge, which spans the Tennessee River at the Morgan/Madison county line.

Authorities on scene told WHNT News 19′s Robert Reeves a car was found on the wrong side of the bridge, after reports that someone was driving on the wrong side of the road. Keys and a purse were found in that vehicle. Authorities believe the person jumped.

Huntsville Police tell our news partners, The Huntsville Times, the body is believed to be that of a 77-year-old woman reported missing on Tuesday. Mike Corley, Chief Deputy for the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, said a woman reported her 77-year-old sister missing.

The missing woman’s name has not been released.

Due to the search, traffic was slow coming over the Northbound side of the bridge into Huntsville.