PANAMA CITY BEACH — A corpse found behind a Dairy Queen has yet to be identified.
A release from the Panama City Beach Police Department says that on July 1 at 12 p.m. the agency responded to reports of a dead person in the woods behind the Dairy Queen at 134 Alf Coleman Road.
Detectives and crime scene personnel processed the scene. The corpse later became the jurisdiction of the 14th Judicial Circuit Medical Examiner’s Office.
The release ends by saying that this is an active investigation, and there is no more information available.
A photographer with the News Herald went out to the scene on July 2 and talked to staff at the Dairy Queen. An unhoused person had reported the body to the restaurant, which contacted law enforcement.
There is a homeless encampment nearby. Staff said it appeared that the person had been dead for some time when they went out to see the area. The body was decomposing and there were maggots, according to the staff.
A commenter on WMBB’s Facebook post said she knew many of the homeless in that area and that the man who had his tent set up in the spot where the body was found had severe health problems, including seizures. There have recently been heat indices of over 100, something she believed could have exacerbated existing health issues. Other comments backed up that this was a spot where homeless individuals lived.
Jessica Gentry, the PCB resident who posted the comment, told the News Herald she believed this was a man in his 50s named Terry, who had recently run out of medication for his seizures and was also suffering from cirrhosis. She said she and her brother, who was close with Terry, believe this was him because the tent she bought him was set up where the body was found, and they haven’t been able to contact him for some time.
Dairy Queen staff told the photographer with the News Herald that there was a man who would come in regularly but recently hadn’t, and that they also thought this could be the individual.
The News Herald previously reported that Bay County doesn’t have a homeless shelter, only faith-based life-change programs with limited bed space. Between this and the enforcement of local public camping and sleeping bans, many escape to the woods.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Body found behind PCB Dairy Queen; investigation ongoing
Reporting by Dylan Gentile and Tyler Orsburn, Panama City News Herald / The News Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
