Funeral services are being planned for a Cornelia man who was found dead after he went missing while returning home to Habersham from Florida. The body of 47-year old Jerald Freeman was discovered Wednesday night in a ravine off Pea Ridge Road near Laurel Ridge Drive in Hall County, just a mile and a half from his home.
Corporal Dallas Van Scoten with the Georgia State Patrol in Gainesville says Freeman was negotiating a curve when his motorcycle ran off the east shoulder of the road. He crossed over the center line to the west shoulder and ran down an embankment. Freeman was thrown from his motorcycle about 16 feet down while his bike continued traveling several more feet before stopping. Freeman’s brother, Joel Freeman of Clarkesville, discovered his brother’s body while walking the roadway in search of him.
The accident was discovered at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday more than 24 hours after Freeman was last seen in southwest central Georgia. Freeman’s family launched a frantic search for him through law enforcement and social media after his wife lost contact with him by cellphone Tuesday afternoon.
Friends remember Freeman as a man who loved life and lived it to the fullest. He was a skydive instructor in Atlanta and owner of About Time Tree Service in Cornelia. Freeman was a 1985 graduate of Habersham Central High School in Mt. Airy and a 1987 graduate of Truett McConnell College in Cleveland.
Jerald Freeman was the son of Joyce and J.B. Freeman of Cornelia. He leaves behind his wife, Nicole, and daughter, Jaden.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time and are being handled through McGahee-Griffin Stewart Funeral Home in Cornelia.
