Kings Bay sailors found dead were best friends, neighbors 'shocked'

KINGSLAND, Ga. — Police are looking for answers in the deaths of two Navy sailors who died just days apart in the same home.

Investigators say Bryan Jarrell was at Disney with his family when he said he wasn’t feeling well and disappeared. He was found in a home near Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay on Thursday. Ty Bell was found dead several days later in the same home.

“It’s just shocking, probably the most shocking thing I’ve ever heard,” neighbor Jenette O’Connor said.

Many friends and neighbors like O’Connor are trying to make sense of what happened to U.S. Navy sailors Ty Bell and Brian Jarrell.

“I just wish there was something that we could’ve done to foresee what was going to happen, maybe help them,” O’Connor said.

Police started investigating Thursday after getting a report of an unconscious man at a home on Spinnaker Circle. Jarrell was found dead, face down, in a back bedroom. The day before his body was found, the 25-year-old father was reported missing during a Disney vacation with his family.

According to a report, Jarrell’s wife said her husband went back to the hotel room, because he wasn’t feeling well, but then disappeared.

His shipmates later found Jarrell at the Spinnaker Circle home, owned by Bell. A friend tells Action News Jax that Bell was devastated after losing his best friend. He was found just four days later, dead inside the same home. A witness said Bell had a white foamy substance coming from his nose.

“It’s just a tragic loss to the families, the country, everybody,” O’Connor said.

Friends tell Action News Jax Jarrell was having frequent seizures before he died. Detectives suspect the two sailors overdosed on drugs.

Cox Media Group