WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
The body of missing Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Brandee Smith was found Saturday afternoon.
Law enforcement divers found Smith at 1:45 p.m. Saturday, nearly thirty-two hours after Smith went overboard on the St. Johns River near Welaka. Smith and her boyfriend were boating on the river in their 14-foor skiff style boat when the couple struck a channel marker. Smith went overboard Friday around 4:40 a.m.
More than 150 officers from 13 different organizations and law enforcement agencies came together in search of Smith, who started at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in 2012. She was a 35-year-old mother of four.
