To view original article click here
May 18, 2014
Credit: Katrina Gutierrez / WFAA
A body matching the description of missing former Dallas assistant police chief Greg Holliday was found in a creek near Preston Trail Golf Club on May 17, 2014, five days after he was reported missing.
DALLAS — Dallas police confirmed Sunday that the body of their former assistant chief, Greg Holliday, was found in a North Dallas creek on Saturday.
Holliday hadn’t been seen in six days. The department issued a “critical missing” alert last week after family and friends expressed concern for his welfare.
The remains were found along a creek near Preston Trail Golf Club on Saturday morning.
“The Holliday family extends heartfelt gratitude to the community for all of the prayers offered on Greg’s behalf,” said a written statement released Sunday afternoon. “He served Dallas with distinction and with love. Our family will always be grateful to the men and women who worked so hard to find Greg and bring him back to us… the volunteers, the Parks and Wildlife officials, the Fire-Rescue workers and, especially, his Dallas Police Department family.”
Police Chief David Brown communicated with Holliday’s family on Saturday after the discovery. “Having spoken with the wife this morning, it’s very tragic,” Brown said at a Saturday news conference.
The search for the former police department executive was narrowed down with the help of boats and sonar. Dallas police had enlisted the help of game wardens at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
“Soon after they began to search, they discovered the body using the sonar on the boat going down the creek,” Brown said.
News 8 spoke with one of Holiday’s old friends, former assistant chief Ron Waldrop. He was heartbroken about the news of his former associate. “He was a very highly principled person. He had a passion for DPD, and not just DPD — he had a passion for Dallas,” Waldrop said.
A lot of what happened remains unclear. Holliday was said to be depressed and grieving over the anniversary of his daughter’s death. News 8 also learned that Holliday was weaning himself off anti-depressants, inner battles that even a good friend didn’t know about.
“He was a fairly private person,” Waldrop said. “He didn’t talk a lot about that part of his life.”
Friends and family desperate to hear any news about their loved one will have to wait a little longer to hear from the medical examiner’s office for positive identification.
It is also unclear how Holliday died, but Chief Brown did say the body was found submerged in the creek with a high slope suggesting possible “slippage.” Brown said that theory is bolstered by the torrential rains that swept through that part of the city in the days prior to to Holliday’s disappearance.