The body found by a person fishing from the shoreline of the Indian River Lagoon in Sebastian has been identified.
Indian River County sheriff’s investigators have identified the body as that of a 44-year-old man with Palm Bay connections who had been reported missing by his mother, according to law enforcement officials.
The man, whose name has not been released, was found shortly after 2 p.m. July 6 near the shoreline, just south of the St. Sebastian River Bridge on U.S. 1, near the Brevard County line, said sheriff’s Lt. Kevin Jaworski.
Sheriff’s deputies went to the scene and confirmed the man was dead, Jaworski said. It’s unknown how the man died or how his body ended up near the shoreline.
The man, who had previous Palm Bay addresses, wasn’t known to frequent the area but may have been staying at a nearby hotel, according to investigators. A Palm Bay police business card was found in his pocket.
The man’s mother was calling Brevard authorities to report her son missing when Indian River County sheriff’s investigators identified the body through fingerprints. They then contacted Palm Bay police officials.
The death is being investigated as “suspicious,” but there were no immediate, outward signs of trauma or foul play, according to investigators. An autopsy had been scheduled.
“Right now we don’t have a clear cause of death but we are treating it as suspicious,” said sheriff’s Lt. Kevin Jaworski. “We think he was on the shoreline for about a day.”
Palm Bay police officials said the last known contact officers had with the man was in 2024 following a security check along Palm Bay Road. Officials said the business card may have been given to him at that time.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641or jgallop@floridatoday.com. X: @JDGallop.
Laurie K. Blandford is a breaking news reporter with TCPalm. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Body of of man found by person fishing Indian River Lagoon identified
Reporting by Laurie K. Blandford and J.D. Gallop, USA Today Florida Network / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Laurie K. Blandford and J.D. Gallop, USA Today Florida Network | USA TODAY Network
