Second body found during search for teens who jumped off TN River bridge to evade police

From Local 3 News: UPDATE: After five days of searching, Loudon County officials say they have located a second body in their search for two missing teens who jumped into the Tennessee River on Wednesday to evade police.

"Sheriff Jimmy Davis and the Loudon County Sheriff's Office that the second missing teenager has been found dead," said the LCSO on Sunday, April 13. "The teen was recovered this afternoon during continued search efforts in the Tennessee River. The search has involved multiple agencies."  

Sheriff Davis says the families of the teens have been notified.

"This is another devastating loss, and our hearts are with those who are grieving. The impact of this tragedy is being felt deeply across multiple communities. As both families now face unimaginable loss, we ask the community to come together in support and compassion," LCSO said.
 
The first of the two teens was found on Friday. The two disappeared after jumping more than 80 feet into the river, thinking they were simply jumping over to the other side of the interstate.

Crews continued to search by land, air, and under the water for the second teen, although now the search was a recovery rather than a rescue. On Sunday morning, the Loudon County Sheriff's Office shared the update that the teen had been found after several agencies from across the region deployed cadaver K9's and various boats with different types of sonar technology.

As two of the three teenagers involved were juveniles, the Sheriff's Office has not revealed any names.

 
PREVIOUS STORY: Loudon County authorities found a body on Friday during a continued search for two teenagers who disappeared after jumping into the Tennessee River while evading police.

According to deputies, the teenagers may be from the Chattanooga area as the initial pursuit began when a car was reported stolen from Hamilton County.
 
NBC affiliate WBIR10 says the teens jumped more than 80 feet off a bridge from I-75 during the chase. Crews have been searching for them since Wednesday, April 9.

Loudon County Sheriff Jimmy Davis gave an update on the search Friday afternoon. Shortly after, crews found one person dead.

The search has now turned from a rescue to a recovery, says Davis.
 
Although deputies were searching for two, three teens jumped off the bridge into the river. One teen was found and detained.

After questioning, officers learned about the two other teens. He told officers that while abandoning the car on the side of the interstate, they jumped over the bridge's barrier thinking it would lead to the opposite side of the interstate.

Instead, they fell into a gap between the two sides of the bridges, 80 feet down into the river.

Davis says the oldest teen was 18-years-old and the other are believed to be juveniles.
Search crews also found a backpack on Thursday that they think may have belonged to one of the teens as it was found downstream from the bridge.


PREVIOUS STORY: The two teenagers who jumped off the Tennessee River Bridge to evade police on Wednesday are believed to be from the Chattanooga area, according to the Sweetwater Police Department.

NBC affiliate WBIR10 spoke with Sweetwater Police Sergeant Kelvin Franco, who told them the teens might be from the area because the car in their possession was reported stolen by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.
 
On Wednesday, April 9, the Sweetwater Police Department was involved in a pursuit of the stolen car around 4:00am. They said the chase was called off and the car was found abandoned near the Tennessee River Bridge on I-75 North near Loudon. The suspects fled before police arrived.

"The car was abandoned, the occupants of the vehicle had left, and ran from the vehicle," said Jimmy Davis, Loudon County Sheriff.

The Loudon County Sheriff's Office conducted a multi-agency search, where they found one suspect after residents reported seeing a teenage boy on a neighbor's porch.

"We did find a subject yesterday, that we believe was involved in the pursuit. He is actually right now in the hospital with injuries, it looks apparent from a fall from a bridge," said Davis.
The suspect told deputies during questioning that two other teenagers were involved, and that they had also jumped off the Tennessee River Bridge to evade police.

The Sheriff's Department said the suspect in custody was taken to the hospital with "major injuries".

Although they had to pause due to weather, crews continued to search the area of Lake Drive and the Tennessee River near the 74 mile marker on the I-75 bridge.
 
"Unfortunately our 'golden hour' has passed of any type of rescue, so now we're in recovery phase and trying to make sure, to see, if they are in the water that we're trying our best to be able to locate those individuals," said Davis.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Loudon County Communication Center at 865-458-9081.


PREVIOUS STORY: The Loudon County Sheriff's Office near Sweetwater are searching for two missing teens who jumped off of a bridge to avoid police.

Around 4:00am on Wednesday, April 9, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Sweetwater Police Department were involved in a police chase of a stolen car. Police say the pursuit was called off, and the car was later found abandoned near the Tennessee River Bridge on I-75 North.
 

The suspects fled the scene before police could get there, says the Sheriff's Office. The area was found to be empty after a multi-agency search began that involved K-9 units and drones.

Around 7:30am, the Sheriff's Office says they received multiple reports from residents of the Lake Drive community concerning car break-ins. Victims reported seeing a teenage male on a neighbor's porch.

Officers arrested the teenager, realizing that he was possibly the same suspect from the car chase. Police say the suspect admitted during questioning that he had been evading the police, and that he and two other teenage boys had jumped into the water from the Tennessee River Bridge.

Anyone with information on the search is asked to contact the Loudon County Communications Center at 865-458-9081.