Body found in Neches River 4 days after man's disappearance
TYLER COUNTY — The body of a 36-year-old Colmesneil man who had been missing from his boat since Saturday was found Wednesday morning in the Neches River, Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford said in a news release.
George "Cliff" Neyland III was by himself in a small boat Saturday morning on the Neches River and by Sunday, sheriff's officials were notified that he had not been heard from since.
He was last seen north of the bridge on Recreational Road 255, an area also known as Fox's Bend in the northeast part of Tyler County.
Texas Game Wardens, Federal Park Service Rangers and sheriff's deputies responded to the area Sunday around 8 a.m.
Authorities patrolled and searched the Neches River with sonar imaging for three days but were unable to find Neyland or a boat, according to Weatherford.
On Wednesday at about 11:15 a.m., the sheriff's office received a call from someone checking on his camp and discovered a body floating in the Neches.
Police were able to identify the body as Neyland's.
Justice of the Peace Trisher Ford has ordered an autopsy that will be performed later this week at the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Beaumont.
