Navy serviceman’s body found in GA river, his family still searching for answers

ATLANTA — Devin Jeter dedicated his life to service.

The 25-year-old was the youngest of six siblings and followed two of his sisters and an older brother into the military shortly after he graduated from Druid Hills High School.

Devin enlisted in the Navy, serving in Japan before recently being redeployed to Jacksonville a few months ago.

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“(He was) a caring, thoughtful person who enjoyed life, and he was always a happy person,” Debra Smith, Devin’s great aunt said.

But last week he went missing while he was driving back to base.

According to the family, he took a rental car at 10:30 pm on Thursday to make the overnight drive so he could report for duty in Jacksonville the next morning.

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However, calls overnight went unanswered and he never reported for duty.

“That’s when alarm bells start going off,” Smith said.

For days, phone calls went unanswered, with no word on where Devin may have gone.

“You can’t imagine this guy, as responsible as he is, disappearing,” Gary Smith, Devin’s great uncle, said.

On Monday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation says a fisherman found a body in a river near Lumber City, Ga.

Two days later, the GBI called the family with the bad news. They identified Devin’s body by the crosses tattooed on his arms.

“I can tell you the last six days have been the worst days of my life,” Debra Smith said.

The family says Devin’s body did not have any identification with it.

According to the latest information from the GBI, his rental car has not been located.

However, the initial autopsy did not find any apparent injuries— more tests are still being done.

Devin’s family says he was generous, adventurous, brave and was dedicated to service.

Now, they are left grieving the loss of a man with so much promise.

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