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Man found dead in 1990 identified

Winter Haven Police Department

The body of Melville Talley Townsend was found July 24, 1990.

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TBO.com

Published: July 17, 2009

TAMPA - Winter Haven police have just determined the identity of a man found dead in an abandoned home nearly 19 years ago.

Melville Talley Townsend was 39 when detectives found his body July 24, 1990, at 340 Orrin Avenue S.W. in Winter Haven.

His body remained unidentified until June 30, when a fingerprint match came back with Townsend's name.

Investigators say they know he lived in Lakeland and Winter Haven in the early 1980s. He also spent time in Hillsborough and Duval counties.

Townsend, a Georgia native whose Social Security number was issued in Florida in 1963 or 1964, lived at times as a transient and might have suffered from mental illness, police say.

"Townsend does not appear to have been listed as a Missing Person," a Winter Haven police news release states. "Investigators do not suspect foul play in the death. Investigators have thus far been unable to locate a next of kin for Townsend and are requesting the public's help."

Those with information about Townsend can call Det. Eric Outlaw at (863) 291-5752.

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