B.J. Brown likely drowned in Tranquility Lake, autopsy shows

HANCOCK COUNTY -- They searched for three days, but in their hearts B.J. Brown's family and close friends knew he was gone.

The 31-year-old Stone County resident never would have left his wife without a word.

An autopsy determined Wednesday night that Brown likely drowned in Tranquility Lake at Muddy Joe's Off Road & RV Park in rural Hancock County, county coroner Jim Faulk said. Faulk said a final determination will come only after routine toxicology tests are completed in about a month.

Thousands of law enforcement officers, firefighters, search-and-rescue workers and volunteers had combed the woods and lake for Brown, who disappeared Saturday night in the middle of a weekend with his wife, Jenni Brown, and friends.

Searchers used all-terrain vehicles, bloodhounds, helicopters, horses and, for the lake, sonar equipment. In the end, sheriff's Cmdr. Jeremy Skinner said, nature revealed Brown's body. It floated to the lake's surface at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Authorities had to break the news to his family, including his wife, two young sons and parents, who gathered in the clubhouse at Muddy Joe's.

Frank Brown emerged to thank volunteers and accept condolences.

"That's what we wanted -- to find the boy," he said, dry-eyed and stoic. "We have him now."

Skinner said there would be an autopsy, standard procedure in such cases.

"It was the time for him to surface," Skinner said. "We're glad that it's over so we could give the family some closure and begin the healing process."

Frank Brown said it's like a book, with one chapter closed and the next opened. He wants to know what happened to his son. Right now, he has no idea.

'A family man'

B.J. Brown was looking forward to his first camping trip to Muddy's Joe's in rural Hancock County. He and his wife set up their campers at a campsite with longtime friends Bobby and Jennifer Howard. Saturday night, they were at a concert on the grounds, listening to country musician Frank Foster.

About 9 p.m., Jennifer Howard said, Brown said he had to go to the bathroom. He never came back.

Jennifer Howard was beside herself after they found her friend's body. She hugged Frank Brown and cried.

"B.J. was an awesome guy," she said, noting he would do anything for her and her husband. For example, he helped the Howards set up for their wedding.

"I always called him my brother from another mother," she said.

Brown was an offshore driller. He and his wife were high school sweethearts and best friends. You saw one, you saw the other.

He went to work offshore as soon as he graduated high school, providing for his family while Jenni Brown home-schooled their two sons, who are 8 and 12 years old.

"He was the role model of a husband and father," said his aunt, Frank Brown's sister Krista St. Romain.

Her husband, John St. Romain, said the Brown family had just moved from a mobile home into a new house.

"When he came home, he spent all his time with his kids and family," John St. Romain said. "He was a family man."

'It takes God'

Thousands of people had been at Muddy Joe's for the concert Saturday night. After Brown went missing, his family, friends and the ATV community came together to search for him. They searched the 400-acre campground all Sunday morning. Brown was reported missing to the Hancock County Sheriff's Office at 1 p.m. Sunday, Skinner said.

The Sheriff's Office brought in bloodhounds. They alerted on the lake, a focal point from the beginning. Dogs that pick up the scent of human remains were brought in and also alerted on the lake, Skinner said.

On Monday, one of the dogs found Brown's hat in some brush at the lake's edge.

Dale Denning, who grew up with Brown, said, "When I heard about his hat being by the pond, I figured that's where he'd be at."

Jenni Brown, distraught after the discovery of her husband's body, remained in the clubhouse for a while.

"He loved that woman in there so much," Jennifer Howard said. "He would always tell people how much he loved her and she said the same thing about him."

Frank Brown hadn't slept much since Sunday. He and his wife had worked night shifts -- she at Stone County Hospital and he at Hood Industries -- when they got the call Sunday morning that their son was missing.

"So many people have lost loved ones, and I see them out here trying to support us," Frank Brown said. "I know we've had a lot of prayer, and it sure takes God to get through something like this.

"We sure do appreciate people's concern."

This story was originally published March 9, 2016 at 7:42 PM with the headline "B.J. Brown likely drowned in Tranquility Lake, autopsy shows."