Longtime Chattanooga attorney found dead in Alabama along Tennessee River
MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. — Funeral arrangements have been announced for George Edward Koontz, a longtime Chattanooga attorney and founding member of GraceWorks Church.
Alabama officials say Koontz body was recovered more than a hundred miles downriver and weeks after his family reported the 66 year old was missing.
The Marshall County, Alabama Sheriff's Office (MCSO) says on February 17, Koontz's body was recovered from the Tennessee River below the Guntersville Dam.
The sheriff's office says on January 29th, witnesses saw a man jump from the Walnut Street Bridge in downtown Chattanooga, and the person matched Koontz's description. Officials say Koontz's family had reported him missing that same day.
Officials say the body traveled 19 days and 122 miles on the river from Chattanooga to Guntersville, and that it's likely the body traveled as far as it did because of heavy rains these past few weeks, and the fact that flood gates have remained open along the Tennessee River.
MCSO officials say the body passed through two separate locks before it was found - Nickajack Dam in Marion County, and the Guntersville Dam in Marshall County. MCSO Assistant Chief Deputy Steve Guthrie tells NewsChannel 9 a person near the dam spotted the body on the lower side of the lock, and called the sheriff's office. On Tuesday, the sheriff's office announced the body had been identified as George Koontz.
TVA Police, Guntersville Rescue Squad, Chattanooga Police and Marshall County Coroner Office were also involved in the investigation.
According to his obituary, George Koontz was a native of Knoxville, having grown up in Atlanta before moving to Chattanooga. He studied Political Science at UTC, and then attended UT's College of Law before co-founding the law firm of Kennedy, Fulton and Koontz in 1984. The Chattanooga firm grew to 10 lawyers, and is known today as Kennedy, Koontz, and Klingler. He and his wife Carolyn are founding members of GraceWorks Church.
Koontz's obituary states that he was actively involved in amateur baseball throughout the Southeast for more than 30 years, helping hundreds of Tennessee and Georgia baseball players get college scholarships. In 1993, he was lead to become founder and general manager of the Chattanooga Cyclones Baseball Program.
"He will be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend to many," his obituary reads, "He loved his family deeply and was so very proud of his son, Dylan."
A celebration of life ceremony will be held for Koontz at GraceWorks Church (6445 Lee Highway, Chattanooga, TN) on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 11 a.m.
The family will receive friends on Friday, Feb. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at Heritage Funeral Home (7454 East Brainerd Road) and on Saturday from 10-11 a.m. at GraceWorks Church.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Grace Works Church Building Fund, Grace Works Church, 6445 Lee Highway, Chattanooga, TN 37421 in Memory of George Koontz.