Family members and friends of Bledsoe County Sheriff's Office investigator Ricky Seals console one another at the scene north of Pikeville, Tenn., where his body was found.PIKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Bledsoe County's law enforcement community is reeling from grief today after the discovery early Tuesday of sheriff's office investigator Ricky Seals' body on a gravel road north of Pikeville.
As family and friends come to grips with their loss, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents continue to seek clues and conduct interviews as they await preliminary autopsy results from a forensic examination today.
Sheriff Jimmy Morris called Seals a "great friend, an inspiration and a great law enforcement officer," according to Josh DeVine, spokesman for the TBI.
TBI agents took the lead on the investigation early Tuesday and DeVine said the state agency's staff was launching the probe as a "death investigation" unless evidence leads them to believe foul play was involved.
Seals' body was found lying in front of his Jeep Wrangler on a dirt road, known as Slaughterhouse Road, that runs through a field between U.S. Highway 127 and Old State Highway 28. A passer-by spotted the Jeep and Seals' body around 3:15 a.m. CDT Tuesday.
Ricky SealsThe Jeep was parked in the middle of the road about 100 yards from Highway 127. Seals lived less than a mile away, according to DeVine.
The area north of Pikeville is fairly remote with fewer than a handful of homes within sight of the gravel lane where Seals was found.
Seals had worked in law enforcement for more than three decades in Bledsoe County, both with the sheriff's office and the Pikeville Police Department, according to officials.
As family members were moved to tears once more when Seals' Jeep was hauled from the scene, a shaken Chief Deputy Chris Holland and Deputy Angelo Oreto said they'd miss their fellow officer immensely.
Bledsoe County Sheriff Jimmy Morris, center with black cowboy hat, talks with TBI Director Mark Gwyn, to Morris' right, as agents process the scene where Bledsoe County Sheriff's Investigator Ricky Seals was found dead this morning. The TBI is calling the probe a "death investigation" at this early stage."He was one of my best friends," said Oreto, who worked with Seals off and on for the last 26 years. "He's like a brother to me."
Holland said Seals was "a great guy and great to work with," someone who was always joking and cared about his community.
"He really did care about the people in his job," Holland said.
TBI officials would not speculate on the manner of Seals' death or what type of injuries he had sustained, if any. Officials said they didn't know why Seals was in the field or whether he was answering a call of some kind. He was not on duty, DeVine said.
"We are working this case as aggressively as we can trying to get to the bottom of the cause of death. We're hoping the autopsy will give us some valuable information that will ... let us know one way or the other," DeVine said.
"This is a huge loss for this department," DeVine said. "This is a small, tight-knit community and a lot of people knew this individual and he had a very long law enforcement career in this area. He knew a lot of people around here, and for a lot of people this is going to be a tough loss."
The TBI wants to hear from anyone who saw or heard anything out of the ordinary Monday night or early Tuesday near Slaughterhouse Road. Anyone with information about the case should call 800-TBI-FIND (800-824-3463).
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.