ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — Tributes are flowing in for a Rockdale County Sheriff's deputy who died over the weekend after a bout with the flu that followed an initial test that said he didn't have it.
The tragic passing of Deputy John Cole Haynie has been met with an outpouring of grief in the Rockdale community.
Those tributes have included people bringing flowers and other mementos and leaving them at his cruiser, with a candlelight vigil planned for Tuesday night.
"We would first like to thank the community for your support and Prayers thus far. In honor of Investigator Haynie we have set up his vehicle to receive memorials in front of the Sheriff’s Office," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook on Sunday. "We ask that you continue to keep his family, this agency, all first responders and this community in your Prayers."
The vigil will be held at 6 p.m. outside the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office. Arrangements for his services have not yet been announced.
Haynie - known to family and friends by his middle name Cole - initially fell ill in December. He went to the doctor thinking he had the flu, but a test came back negative.
A few days later, Lyn Haynie said her husband woke her up "pale as a ghost and says he can't breathe."
Eventually, Cole Haynie was transferred to Emory Hospital in critical condition with problems with his kidneys, lungs and heart. His heart and lungs were put on a machine to help them recover, his wife said.
Having survived cancer as a teenager, family and friends said he was a fighter who had a strong chance of surviving despite a 40 to 50 percent chance. Tragically, Haynie died on Saturday evening after battling the condition for more than a month.
"We have lost a brother, a friend, a husband, and a servant of our community," Sheriff Eric J. Levett said. "And with that, we mourn... the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office sends our deepest thoughts and prayers."
Investigator Haynie had been with the sheriff's office for 8 years having joined the sheriff's office in 2012 as a deputy with the jail. He was promoted to certified sheriff's deputy in 2014 after becoming Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certified.
He served with the patrol division for five years, beginning as a patrol deputy and later becoming a gang investigator with the Special Investigations Unit.
A family member spoke with 11Alive and said followup tests did show Haynie had influenza B.
That family member urged the public to get the flu vaccine.
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