A sheriff and a woman who were detained died after falling into the Tennessee River in the USA.

An arrested sheriff and a woman were found dead on Wednesday after the car they were riding in fell into the Tennessee River in the United States. CNN.

At a news conference Thursday, Robert J. Leonard, the Meigs County sheriff, made a radio call and said he was returning to the local police station with the woman he had arrested, District Attorney Russell Johnson said. However, after the call he did not answer again.

Russell says the sheriff made the final call saying “water” shortly after telling his wife via text message that he had made the arrest.

During the search, Robert’s car and the body of Tabitha Smith, the woman detained by the sheriff, were found covered in mud in the back seat and the driver’s seat empty. However, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday evening that Robert’s body had also been found.

The Russell County prosecutor says they are working on the theory “that this was an accident.”

“He was unfamiliar and he was doing other things that could have caused him to sink. There are skid marks and a few scratches. So, there are signs that he was braking or at least trying to stop… So it looks like it was just an accident,” he explains.

Tabitha’s friends remember her as “a happy, outgoing person who loved life.”

Emily Neusel, also a friend of the detained woman, said she had “a heart of gold and despite all the difficulties and problems she had, she was a great person.”

In accordance with CNNIt is unknown why Tabitha was detained.