MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson confirmed Thursday afternoon that a body was found in the Cumberland River near Vaughn Road in Montgomery County.
Fuson said the body has not yet been identified.
It is unclear whether this incident is related to the soldier who went missing in the Red River over the weekend. Officials have not confirmed or denied whether the incidents are related. The name of the soldier has not been released.
Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency Director, Jerry Buchannan said the body was found just after 2:30 p.m. a short distance upriver from Lock C. Buchannan added that he had not talked to the two men who found the body but it was his understanding that they were the father and brother of the missing man.
“We don’t know for sure, but most likely it’s the soldier from Fort Campbell,” said Buchannan.
Clarksville Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Ray Williams confirmed that the Clarksville Fire Rescue boat, that had been searching along the Cumberland River, was the first on the scene after the body was reported.
Emergency personnel have been searching for the missing soldier since he disappeared Friday night in the Red River after an altercation with another man in a parking lot on North Riverside Drive.
According to witnesses, security guards had broken up a fight between two men. One of the men, a 24-year-old, reportedly fought with the security guards and somehow entered the fast-moving water of the Red River. Authorities aren’t sure whether the man jumped into the river or fell.
The man’s name has not yet been released, but officials described him as a Fort Campbell soldier.
Rescue personnel with Clarksville Fire Rescue, Montgomery County Emergency Medical Services, and Emergency Management Agency (EMA), continued their search over the weekend but did not find any sign of the missing man.
This is a developing story.