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Investigators work to ID body found in car in Hudson canal

Tribune photo by ANDY JONES

A patch of grass and a sea wall separate the parking lot of the Gulf Island Golf and Tennis Resort and the canal.

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By LISA A. DAVIS

ldavis@tampatrib.com

Published: July 10, 2009

Updated: 07/10/2009 05:29 pm

HUDSON - Pasco sheriff's detectives are trying to confirm the identity of a body of an elderly man found submerged in a canal behind a condominium complex today.

The case is classified as suspicious, though sheriff's office spokesman Kevin Doll said at this point there appears to be no evidence of foul play.

"We have a possibility of who the body might be," Doll said, adding that forensic tests would likely have to be used to confirm the identity.

He wouldn't comment on whether anyone matching that description had been reported missing. Detectives were notifying family members of who they thought the man to be.

Divers started searching the canal at the Gulf Island Beach and Tennis Resort searching in the 5900 block of Sea Ranch Drive about 11:15 a.m. after receiving a phone call that a car was spotted beneath the water.

The maroon Chrysler LeBaron was located by three divers at 12:14 p.m. By 1:15, divers had discovered the body inside the vehicle that had likely been in the water for a number of days, Doll said.

There is a parking lot for the complex just before the canal. A grassy area and a sea wall below are all that separates a vehicle from the water. No tire marks appeared to be visible in the grass.

Throughout the late morning and afternoon, residents across the canal and on balconies at the resort watched the police activity.

Mike Royal, 59, who lives directly across the canal from where the car was discovered, said he hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

"We didn't hear nothing," he said. "I have no idea what time this could've happen."

The canal is about 10 feet deep, Doll said.

Royal said he was surprised he didn't notice anything during low tide.

"When it's really low tide, it's really low tide," he said.

About midway between his dock and the seawall, Royal said, there's a large pile of rocks beneath the water that could have possibly obscured the view of the car.

Just before 2 p.m., wreckers arrived and operators immediately got to work as drivers still treaded water.

It took more than an hour to completely remove the vehicle from the choppy water, as wrecker operators worked carefully not to disturb the seawall. Rain fell intermittently as they worked. Water poured out as the car was lifted by the wreckers.

From across the canal, the body was visible from inside the car. Some onlookers gasped at the sight. A blue and white cooler floated inside the car.

The car's back window and windshield had been broken out, likely by the divers, as residue covered the windows making visibility difficult if not impossible.

Photographer Andy Jones and TBO Producer Beth Gaddis contributed to this report.

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