Body pulled from Sardis identified; autopsy establishes death by drowning

By John Howell Sr. and Billy Davis

Authorities have identified a man who apparently drowned in Sardis Lake on Monday as Gaddy Steven Thomas, 46, of Memphis.

Panola County Sheriff Otis Griffin said that the body was located about 5 p.m. Wednesday after an exhaustive two-day search on the upper lake.      

Thomas was found in the Lafayette County portion of the lake, not far from where it was last seen, the sheriff said.

Panola County Coroner Gracie Grant-Gulledge said an autopsy performed Thursday determined Thomas died of accidental drowning.

Griffin had said authorities were awaiting results of the autopsy before completing their investigation.

Searchers had been looking around the clock after a female friend reported Thomas missing Tuesday morning.

Panola EMA and the Panola Sheriff’s Department had set up an operations center at Engineer’s Point mid-morning on Tuesday.

The search included a helicopter from the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department that was seen by locals searching the waters along Thompson Creek and Pat’s Bluff.  

“At night we still had people securing the area,” the sheriff said.

Griffin on Thursday identified the friend as Lori Thomas, 35, also of Memphis. The two Thomases were not related.

“She reported they were in the lake when their boat drifted away Monday night,” Griffin said. The man tried to swim for help, while the woman stayed behind.

Initial reports indicated that the man and woman had gotten out of the boat, and he was teaching her how to swim. When the boat drifted away, he went to get it and that was the last time she saw him, according to Griffin.

“She was wearing a life jacket,” Griffin reported. “She floated all night until she was able to make it back to land and get help,” the sheriff added.

Authorities from Panola, Desoto and Lafayette sheriff’s departments, along with the Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and the U.S. Corps of Engineers used boats in addition to the helicopters during the search.

Panola County EMA?Director Daniel Cole said the search teams had worked until midnight Tuesday and were prepared to do it again Wednesday.

“We had a lot of equipment and manpower out here,” Cole said. “We did not leave any stone unturned, from using cadaver dogs and sonar equipment to dragging the lake bottom.”

Griffin said the body likely floated back to the surface when the rescuers found it.

“Within 36 hours a body should float back to the surface,” Griffin added.  “With the number of boats we had on the lake, we hoped we would find the body when it came up.”

The sheriff said that his interviews with family members indicated that the drowning victim was a “very avid swimmer” who made weekly visits to the lake. “He knew the lake,” Griffin said.

Superior Funeral Home of Memphis is handling the arrangements which were incomplete at press time.