Deputies investigate woman's drowning | News

Wimauma, Florida - Katie Johns and Jayne Henry were the best of friends.

"They had a lot in common. They would go horseback riding and canoeing and they were adventurers," said Katie's sister, Michele Routh. "They would always go out and explore and do things together."

And that's what family members say 25-year-old Johns and 23-year-old Henry were out doing early Wednesday morning. They were canoeing along the Little Manatee River when something went wrong.

Photo Gallery: Death investigation, overturned canoe found

"All of a sudden, the canoe started taking on water and we don't know all the details after that," said Routh.

Retired Tampa Police Officer Dan Willey works security at the private Sundance Marina. He says he spotted Katie in her bikini laying on the boat dock shortly before noon. She was unresponsive.

"I shook her and called her name... and she finally woke up, very incoherent," said Willey. "I could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage."

Dan called 911 after learning both Katie's canoe and her friend were missing. Dive teams arrived on scene and later discovered Jayne Henry's lifeless body underwater down river.

"I'm in shock, I guess. What do you say when you lose your youngest daughter?" asked a sobbing Beverly Close, Jayne's mother. "I had four daughters and she was the youngest of the four."

The news is agonizing for everyone involved, especially Jayne's best friend. "She's very upset about it. She doesn't remember all the details. I guess they got hot out in the sun, they didn't eat right this morning, and they were up all night," said Katie's sister.

Hillsborough Sheriff's detectives arrived late Wednesday afternoon in search of any remaining clues that might point to how one of the young women ended up unconscious along the shoreline and the other ended up dead.