Woman’s body recovered in Coosa County
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Mary Johns
By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
A woman’s body was recovered in Coosa County Tuesday night, potentially the same woman who was reported missing from Georgia last week.
As of press time it had not yet been confirmed whether it was the same woman. However, Sheriff Michael Howell reported that they did recover a female body near where the missing woman’s truck was parked.
Howell explained that Mary Lee Johns; a 57-year-old from Carrollton, Georgia; was initially reported missing by the Carrollton Police Department on Thursday, October 13. She was last seen in Carrollton, Georgia, on October 6.
Her black 2022 Ford F-150 was located by law enforcement in Coosa County on October 11, and the missing person flyer for her indicated that she was last seen October 9 in Coosa County.
Howell said that Johns’ vehicle was parked close to the Mitchell Dam bridge on Alabama Highway 22, just before getting to the bridge.
After having begun the search and attempt to locate Johns last Thursday, on Tuesday night they found a deceased female in close proximity to Johns’ vehicle.
Howell stated that they had begun the search close to Johns’ vehicle, and he called and utilized multiple resources around the state. Those included the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) Marine Police, Game and Fish, Elmore County Sheriff’s Office, Chilton County Sheriff’s Office, Autauga County Sheriff’s Office, Alexander City Rescue Squad, Daphne Search and Rescue, Elmore County Emergency Management Agency, Coosa County Emergency Management Agency, ALEA State Troopers, ALEA aviation unit, Goodwater Volunteer Fire Department, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Tracy Sargent K9 Unit, North Alabama Search Dog Association, Coosa County deputies, reserves, and Sheriff Howell.
“It was definitely a blessing to have two other sheriffs come out and volunteer their time to help with the search,” Howell said. “That was Sheriff John Shearon with Chilton County and Sheriff Joe Sedinger with Autauga County.”
Howell stated that they began the search at about 10 a.m. last Thursday. He said that they had a great deal of assistance in searching through the weekend and up until Tuesday night when they found the deceased female.
Howell said that the body was sent to the Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy and to determine the identity of the deceased female based on dental records. As of press time he said the identity had not been determined.
With the female body being found and potentially being Johns, he said that they are now conducting a death investigation rather than a missing person investigation to help determine how the woman died.