Found Deceased NC - Gayle Fleming, 63, Clemmons, 17 April 2016

[cmlegend99]

So sad. Had an alert come up on my phone and I knew they found her.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[caveat]

I am so sorry to see this.

If I am not mistaken, the place that her car was parked was off one side (left when you enter) of the main road through the park, but the river is on the other side of the main road (sort of on the right, but not visible, when you enter). Do paths easily lead from the place her car was to the river? I have never walked the trails there

 

[StJohn]

So sad to hear this, but can't say surprised. RIP, Gayle.

Still a lot of questions...I am wondering how she ended up in the river. Maybe LE thinks she took an overdose, then wandered to the water's edge & fell in? No sign of trauma on the body does not necessarily rule out foul play but it sure would make foul play difficult to prove.

I wonder what happened that caused LE to focus on that area after they had said they did not believe she was in the park?

Here is a map of the area she was found, her body tangled in brush at the edge (just below the red dot on the map). The red dot is the canoe launching area.

 

[sallye818]

I'm very interested to hear the cause and manner of death...

 

[StJohn]

Looking at the screen shot map I posted earlier, a bridge can be seen across the river just a short distance up stream from where the body was found. I wonder if a body was tossed in a river from a bridge if it would result in visible trauma to the body?

Just thinking out loud.

 

[StJohn]

I am so sorry to see this.

If I am not mistaken, the place that her car was parked was off one side (left when you enter) of the main road through the park, but the river is on the other side of the main road (sort of on the right, but not visible, when you enter). Do paths easily lead from the place her car was to the river? I have never walked the trails there

You are correct, the area where she was found is on the opposite side of the main entrance to the park from where the car was found. I have not been back there, but there is a canoe launch area back there not far from where the body was found. Also, there is a small road leading back there, not sure about trails but I wouldn't t think it would be too difficult to walk back there. It just seems as if someone would have seen her going in there.

 

[StJohn]

While the news reports contain very little detail, I would think the medical examiner would know if GF's cause of death was drowning. If not drowning, then toxicology should show if there were lethal levels of a drug, or drugs, in her system. If she took an overdose & stumbled around in a stupor, then fell in the water, would think cause of death would be drowning. So I wonder what the theory will be if no lethal drug dose found? I really find it hard to believe that she drowned herself.

 

[EA18G]

My opinion is that she was thrown into the river from the bridge. RIP Sweet Lady.

 

[StJohn]

My opinion is that she was thrown into the river from the bridge. RIP Sweet Lady.

That seems like a possibility to me as well. I just wonder if LE would be able to prove it at this point, especially with no signs of trauma on her body.

 

[StJohn]

I decided to drive over the bridge near where GF was found, just to get a sense for how far the drop distance is from bridge to river. The bridge is not nearly as high as it appears on the map. I found a side road leading under the bridge & took this picture of the bridge & river. Also, the bridge is upstream from where GF was found, the water current moving south towards where her body was found.

 

[bigmanoncampus]

I decided to drive over the bridge near where GF was found, just to get a sense for how far the drop distance is from bridge to river. The bridge is not nearly as high as it appears on the map. I found a side road leading under the bridge & took this picture of the bridge & river. Also, the bridge is upstream from where GF was found, the water current moving south towards where her body was found.

View attachment 96304View attachment 96306

Interesting to know what they could find out considering she has been in the water for some time. They said no trauma which to me means no gunshot, knife or beating wounds. Would they be able to determine something more subtle like choking or otherwise suffocating? Poisoning? Would her lungs be too decomposed to determine if she drowned?

 

[caveat]

I decided to drive over the bridge near where GF was found, just to get a sense for how far the drop distance is from bridge to river. The bridge is not nearly as high as it appears on the map. I found a side road leading under the bridge & took this picture of the bridge & river. Also, the bridge is upstream from where GF was found, the water current moving south towards where her body was found.

View attachment 96304View attachment 96306

Thank you for this – I did not realize the bridge was so low. It makes me question whether or not there would even be any trauma/injury from a fall of that height. I don't know the depth of the water, which could also affect this, I would think.

Given that she was apparently found near the boat dock, I am a little surprised that she wasn't discovered earlier by anyone using the dock. Of course I don't know how heavily trafficked the dock is or how obscured her body was by the surroundings. But why make the search now in that specific spot? And why didn't they search the river in that general area previously?

 

[StJohn]

Thank you for this – I did not realize the bridge was so low. It makes me question whether or not there would even be any trauma/injury from a fall of that height. I don't know the depth of the water, which could also affect this, I would think.

Given that she was apparently found near the boat dock, I am a little surprised that she wasn't discovered earlier by anyone using the dock. Of course I don't know how heavily trafficked the dock is or how obscured her body was by the surroundings. But why make the search now in that specific spot? And why didn't they search the river in that general area previously?

Caveat, I don' t know how deep the river is, but I know it can change quite a bit depending on rain. You raise some excellent questions too about why GF wasn't found sooner & why LE seemed to suddenly zero in on that area. We may never know.

Just a shame GF wasn't found earlier because if the toxicology doesn't show drug overdose we may never know what happened to her.

 

[CinNC]

Who knows how long and extensively LE was searching the river. They may have been at it for weeks without anyone knowing about it. Nobody here in Clemmons talked about it; at least not to my knowledge. The poster in the Clemmons library said that she "may be suicidal". I saw it there two days after she went missing, and I did not take note of who created the poster. It was very large, and not something a person could print on an average home printer.

This is very sad for the family; I hope they find some peace in being able to lay Gayle to rest.

 

[StJohn]

Who knows how long and extensively LE was searching the river. They may have been at it for weeks without anyone knowing about it. Nobody here in Clemmons talked about it; at least not to my knowledge. The poster in the Clemmons library said that she "may be suicidal". I saw it there two days after she went missing, and I did not take note of who created the poster. It was very large, and not something a person could print on an average home printer.

This is very sad for the family; I hope they find some peace in being able to lay Gayle to rest.

As for the flyer with information saying GF could be suicidal, I participated in one of the searches and heard GF's husband tell a volunteer that he wasn't sure why the flyer said that. Also a volunteer at the search who said she and GF had been friends for 20 years expressed an opinion that GF would never commit suicide. Sometimes people do commit suicide and even those closest to them don' t recognize the signs. Or maybe LE found something in GF's history that suggested a risk for suicide. It's possible we will know more after toxicology results come back.

As for the searches, I think most of us who are local and have been watching for updates in the news were surprised that, after no news for over a month, comes the report that LE zeroed in on that one area & her body was found. The news media had been covering earlier searches, so one would think if there were river searches being done, the news would have reported that as well.

I am in the park several days a week, every week, and never heard or saw any indication that searches were continuing.

It is always difficult to lose a loved one, but these kind of circumstances have to add to the pain, as well as create some guilt, for family and friends who are wondering if they could have done something to prevent this.

 

[cmlegend99]

Any new info?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[007mom]

Any updates on the status or outcome of the autopsy for Mrs. Fleming? While I didn't know her, this story has stayed with me. I've often wondered how park goers and searchers, even search K-9s, missed the not-so-subtle signs of decomposition. That in itself makes me think her body was placed there after her death and the initial searches. Very, very sad.

 

[ladybug52]

I am waiting and waiting to see what the toxicology report revealed if anything. This was supposedly due back by Sept 7 at the latest. Of couse, my guess is that because of the length of time she was submerged in the water, it will be difficult to prove anything. Somebody did something to this lady and somebody knows something about it! You don't just get into the water in your bra and panties and commit suicide. I never believed that part anyway. We can't let Ms. Fleming's death go unsolved. Somebody put that her body in the river after she was dead.

 

[caveat]

I am waiting and waiting to see what the toxicology report revealed if anything. This was supposedly due back by Sept 7 at the latest. Of couse, my guess is that because of the length of time she was submerged in the water, it will be difficult to prove anything. Somebody did something to this lady and somebody knows something about it! You don't just get into the water in your bra and panties and commit suicide. I never believed that part anyway. We can't let Ms. Fleming's death go unsolved. Somebody put that her body in the river after she was dead.

I haven't heard anything about GF in weeks here in the area, though I might have missed something in one of the papers.

Ladybug52, was it released that she was found clad only in undergarments? I had not heard that anywhere and would like to read that if you have a source.

 

[CinNC]

I live in Clemmons and have also wondered about the toxicology and autopsy results. There has been nothing in the local media.

Regarding Ms. Fleming being a suicide risk, I saw the poster in the Clemmons library with my own eyeballs that stated she might be suicidal.