Alachua County deputies have launched an investigation after discovering a body four days after a Gainesville woman was reported missing.
Gainesville resident Jane Johnson, 61, was reported missing Saturday by her husband, former UF and NFL football player Steve Tannen, 71, a ACSO spokesperson Sgt. Frank Kinsey said.
Johnson was last seen at 10 a.m. Saturday and was believed to have left home on her bike, which was also missing, Kinsey said. Tannen told deputies Johnson also left her phone and money at home.
A missing and endangered persons report was issued for Johnson, and the Alachua County Sheriff’s helicopter searched for her over Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park on Saturday night, Kinsey said.
At around 3 p.m. Wednesday, Tannen found his wife’s bike in a wooded area on the 6400 block of Southwest 85th Ave., a ACSO spokesperson Art Forgey said.
Deputies also found the bike and from there began a search of the wooded area where they eventually located a body, Forgey said.
“There was quite a bit of evidence that was collected that showed that she might not be in a right frame of mind, that she may be suffering from some stress and mental issues,” Forgey said.
Kinsey said Johnson had only been in Gainesville for about six weeks and had been traveling between Florida and California, where her daughter lives.
Johnson’s daughter, Lindsey McKeon, is a Hollywood-actress best known for her roles in Supernatural and One Tree Hill, as first reported by MyCBS4.
Kinsey said that due to the nature of the ongoing investigation, the body hasn’t been identified yet, and it’s unknown if the two incidents are connected.
ACSO is working with a medical examiner’s office to investigate the mode and manner of death.
Contact Samia Lagmis at slagmis@alligator.org.
