Jeff for some reason always had to one-up me. First, I had the good-lookin' girlfriend, so Jeff had to get a better one. Then, I had a cool apartment, so Jeff had to get a more upscale one. Then, I bought a new Japanese car, so yes; Jeff had to get a sportier GT model. I got married first, then he got married. I married a Russian gal, he got one, too.

We had a child first, then Jeff had to outdo me and have two kids ! I bought a condo, he bought a house. Now mind you, I never even thought about one-upping Jeffrey, but for some reason, it was a competition !

I beat him to a divorce, but he won the final battle by paying for child support for two kids ! Nothing like keeping up with the Jones' , unless you can best them at every turn.

Jeffrey and I decided to go surfing/clamming/beachcombing around 9:00pm at night. So, we packed up his car and took off for over favorite beach/park, Sebastian Inlet on the Space Coast, just south of Melbourne.

We arrived around 3:00 am after getting a little lost and crashed out on the beach to sleep. You could do that back then;  now its prohibited by the state park.

We woke up with the sun and went clamming in the Inlet, using our feet and toes to find those delicious morsels. Later on that day the waves were about 3-4 feet so we finished out the day surfing the Atlantic. Again, we crashed out on the beach.

Day 2, the waves were too small to surf, so we decided to spend the day doing what young men enjoy. We hung out on the beach checking out bikinis and soaking up some ultraviolet rays !

This was the beginning of my Champagne phase. I decided that the best way to learn about the fabled French wines was to drink as many different kinds of them as possible. I just happened to brink two bottles with me and on day 2, it was on !

So, Jeffrey and I are sitting on the sand, slightly drunk,  just watching the day go by. About 40-minutes goes by and Jeff is out like a light and I'm in a slight warm mellow state when I hear a distant voice. The voice is getting louder and more repetitive when I spot an individual about 200-feet offshore yelling and gesturing wildly. I roused Jeffrey from his daytime stupor and pointed out the thrashing man.

At the time, Jeff was a lifeguard at Miami-Dade Community College and right away he says, " thst guy is in trouble-let' go get him " ! As we were both avid and experienced swimmers we reached the drowing man quickly. Jeff and I tried to tell him to relax (he was caught in an offshore rip current), to no avail.

We both literally were considering knocking this guy out as his actions were beginning to affect his rescue and our safety. We finally managed to manhandle the guy to the safety of the beach. Jeff put him on his side and out came some seawater the guy had swallowed.

The rescued man was fine in about 15-minutes. He told us he was from Missouri and that this was his first time in an ocean ! He thanked us profusely and asked if there was anything he could do for us ? I noticed he had a disposable camera with him and I asked him to take a picture of Jeff and I and to send us a copy. He agreed and took our picture.

The man never did send either one of us that photo. I have lamented not having that picture ever since that day, but I will describe its composition and image to you.

We were sitting on the beach facing the ocean with the sun illuminating our front side. Jeffrey and I are in the prime of our youth; fit, tanned and yes, handsome the both of us. Our arms are around each others shoulders and together as brothers we have the widest smile on our salt-crusted heads because we have both saved a  strangers life. To this day, it was by far, our best day as friends-ever !!!

A couple of Jeff Goodall stories:

One of the first times we worked together on an investigation I had him pretend to be a homeless person. There were these scammers going around tricking homeless people into thinking they qualified for a special $200 cash grant. All they had to do was provide their full name, DOB and social security number.

Of course, what the crooks were really doing was filing tax returns in the names of these homeless people and keeping the earned income tax credit. When the victims tried to file, they were told it was already done and they were out of luck.

So Jeff wore a hidden camera pair of glasses and was solicited by the scammers. He recorded the entire criminal sales pitch. It was so good, not just for my story but for the public. The ringleader was eventually convicted and sentenced to federal prison.

Without Jeff, that would not have happened.

He helped people.

Another big investigation involved an animal rescue organization in Rabun County that promised if you have gave them extra money they’d find a good home for the dog you sponsored. They were secretly keeping all the money, killing the dogs and then going gambling in North Carolina. It was a horrible crime.

Jeff wore a hidden camera with me as we went undercover to visit the shelter. Then he took off all the gear, grabbed his big camera and went with me inside as we chased around the woman who was at the heart of the scam.

That story also resulted in the ringleader going to prison. It would not have happened without Jeff.

He helped people.

On a lighter note, we also exposed a guy who claimed to be an Emory University faculty piano instructor. In reality, he was sneaking onto campus when no one was around and using their piano rooms to charge people outrageous amounts of money for some pretty poor piano lessons.

We caught him lying, and he took off running to escape us. So we chased him through this multi-story Emory building all the way to the roof. It was easy for me; all I had was a microphone. But Jeff kept up even with that big camera on his shoulder.

Like many people, Jeff struggled with sad times. Yet he died doing one of the things he loved best — riding his bike — along the beach, a place he loved the most.

Jeffrey was the epitome of a true friend. He would do anything for me and my family, I could always count on him. I hope he knew how much I loved and appreciated him. I am left with an unfillable void. I will miss our conversations, his encouragement and strength, his sense of humor, sarcasm and British wit. 

I send my sincere condolences to his family who I love dearly. May God give you strength and peace as you heal from your loss.

You were a good man, Goodall, God speed

We are so very sorry for your loss.  Sending our love to all of you,

Wayne and Nancy Sanderford