Singer Found Dead at Tennessee Rest Stop After Being Reported Missing: Terri Lynn Kathey Was 71

The family of missing Southern singer Terri Lynn Kathey received devastating news on Tuesday. Kathey, a vocalist in the gospel and blues genres, was found dead at Monteagle Welcome Center in Monteagle, Tennessee , after going missing on Sunday. She was 71.

As Taste of Country reports, family friend Kerry Pharr shared a public plea on Facebook Monday, saying that Kathey was missing. He relayed, "Her husband Kevin just called and no one has heard from her in 24 hours. They own a Courier Service and she left home around 4;30 A.M. Sunday morning, she made a purchase at Hardee's on Elm Hill Pike in Nashville , TN at 6:30 A.M. No one has seen or heard from her since."

Nashville CBS affiliate WTVF ( NewsChannel5 ) reports that Kathey was headed to Chattanooga when she went missing. Pharr shared that her phone was "pinged" at a cellphone tower near Monteagle Mountain, and her husband had been searching the area.

Kathey's remains were eventually discovered at Monteagle Welcome Center, a rest stop in the area just off Interstate 24, the primary route between Nashville and Chattanooga. Pharr said in a follow-up post that she was found deceased in her car and that the cause of death was "possibly a heart attack."

No memorial details have been made public as of press time.