WEISS LAKE — Leesburg Police Chief Lanny Ransum released a statement Tuesday afternoon announcing that the body of a missing Etowah County woman has been recovered from the Coosa River near Weiss Lake dam. 

Ashley Rebecca Taylor, 22, Gadsden was reported missing to the Leesburg Police and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department last Saturday. 

Taylor was last seen camping at the Leesburg Landing with her husband, Benny M. Taylor, age 54. She was last seen in the evening hours of Thursday, Oct. 21.

 On Oct. 24, a family member found vehicle tracks going into the water close to the primitive camping area at Leesburg Landing. Shortly thereafter, rescue squad teams from Cherokee County and Piedmont located a 1995 Dodge Dakota, which belonged to Taylor and her husband. 

The vehicle was recovered around noon on Sunday, according to Ransum.  

The Cherokee County Rescue Squad then began conducting a search for Mrs. Taylor. Her body was recovered late Tuesday afternoon. The body was turned over to Cherokee County Deputy Coroner Broderick Smith and transported to Huntsville Department of Forensic Sciences State Crime Lab, where an autopsy will be performed.  

In the statement, Ransum said the investigation is ongoing. He added that he was thankful to the following for their assistance in the recovery operation:  Leesburg Fire Department, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department, Cherokee County Rescue Squad, Cherokee EMS, Cherokee County Coroner’s Office, Piedmont Rescue Squad, Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office, Alabama Marine Police, Alabama state troopers, Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, and the Etowah County Sheriff’s Department.