What started as a routine check on a court-ordered ankle monitor ended with a grim discovery in the water.
According to a report from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were asked to assist probation officers in locating a man whose ankle monitor had been stationary for nearly a full day.
Tracking data showed the monitor had not moved since the previous afternoon, placing the individual near a pond off County Road 105 in Lawrence County.
When deputies arrived, they spotted a black vehicle parked nearby. Moments later, probation officers triggered the monitor’s alert system. That’s when deputies noticed a person lying in the water on the opposite side of the pond.
Deputies made their way to the area and found a man face down in the water, unresponsive and suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.
Detectives and the Lawrence County Coroner’s Office were called to the scene. During a search of the area, deputies located a handgun concealed under leaves near the shoreline, along with a camouflage hat. The firearm, identified as a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380, was secured and entered into evidence.
The man was removed from the water and pronounced deceased at the scene. Investigators noted both an apparent entry and exit wound consistent with a gunshot.
The body was transported by a local funeral home, and the ankle monitor was removed by probation officials.
The firearm and other items collected at the scene were logged into evidence as the investigation continues.
What began as a signal from a silent ankle monitor ended with deputies piecing together what happened at the edge of the water.