On March 5, 2025, a tragic incident occurred in Abbeville, Georgia, when James Flute, a 78-year-old man diagnosed with dementia, wandered away from Glen Eagle Health & Rehab, a mental health facility located on East Main Street. Authorities report that Flute was last seen at 12:05 a.m., and despite a public appeal for assistance in locating him, he was later found deceased off Highway 280 east of Abbeville. Wilcox County Coroner Janice Brown confirmed his death but has released few details regarding the cause, stating only that the matter remains under investigation.

The sequence of events began just after midnight, with Flute’s departure from the facility. At approximately 12:45 a.m., Dodge-Wilcox 911 received a report of an individual walking east on the Ocmulgee River Bridge toward Rhine/Dodge County, though it has not been confirmed whether this was Flute. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear, and the ongoing investigation seeks to provide answers to this distressing case, leaving the Abbeville community in mourning.