Medical Examiner ID's Body In Shallow Grave As Denise Lee

TAMPA - A body found Saturday in a shallow grave in Sarasota County has been positively identified as Denise Amber Lee of North Port, authorities announced today.

Lee, the 21-year-old daughter of a veteran sheriff's lieutenant, had been missing since Thursday.

"We've identified the remains of the victim we found yesterday as our victim Denise," said North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis. "She is with God."

Lee became the subject of a search that had involved up to 300 people, mostly law enforcement officers, in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties.

On Saturday, investigators found a body just off Interstate 75 near the Toledo Blade Boulevard exit. Today, authorities said the medical examiner's office confirmed the body was Lee's.

At the same press conference today, Lee's family thanked the public for its assistance and said life would be difficult without her.

The search for Lee ended around 2:15 p.m. Saturday after forensics experts conducted an extensive examination of a disturbed area of ground discovered late Friday by a Sarasota County Sheriff's Office search and rescue team, Lewis said.

Saturday's Search

The site was secured until daylight when authorities began their meticulous work.

"They worked with tweezers, they worked with small paintbrushes" processing what Lewis said was a "very active crime scene."

"We wanted closure for the family. That's what's important," Lewis said. "Richard Goff, her dad, wanted her home. We brought her home, but this is not the way we, as a team, wanted to bring her home."

Goff is the former head of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office narcotics bureau.

Information made public Friday about Michael Lee King's arrest Thursday on a charge of kidnapping produced dozens of leads in the case, Lewis said, but Saturday's discovery was not the result of a tip. He added that 242 officers and volunteers participated in Saturday's search.

The rural area where the body was uncovered is dotted with trees and palmetto thickets, but not densely wooded, authorities said. The grave was a short distance from the pavement of a new subdivision road, but was not visible from the road, authorities added.

Authorities have said there is no known relationship between Lee and the 36-year-old in custody in connection with her disappearance. An unemployed plumber, King lived nearby, but neighbors said they thought he left the area in October. He was last seen four days before Lee's disappearance.

"At this point the investigative team has nothing to believe it was anything more than an absolute random act of violence," Lewis said earlier Saturday.

The areas authorities searched were near King's North Port home or places where he may have driven.

A national search of criminal databases shows King has no prior arrests, just traffic offenses.

Lee, a stay-at-home mom whose father is a longtime officer with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, was reported missing Thursday. Her husband, Nathaniel, a Florida Power & Light employee, came home and found the couple's children, Noah, 2, and Adam, 6 months, alone in a crib. A neighbor told police about a green Camaro that had been parked in the driveway of the home.

At 6:14 p.m. Thursday, Lee called 911 from King's cell phone, police said. Dispatchers recorded her pleading with someone.

The telephone was traced to King. Authorities also received a call from a relative of King's saying King borrowed a flashlight, shovel and gas can from a cousin, claming his lawn mower was stuck in a ditch.

As of 4 p.m. Saturday, the investigative team had received 131 leads, a number which jumped sharply after authorities released information about King and his 1994 green Chevrolet Camaro.

"We have a lot of work to do on a timeline" of King's activities, Lewis said. Anyone who might have seen King or his car between 2 and 9 p.m. Thursday is asked to call investigators at (941) 429-7382.

Donations

Donations for the Lee family can be delivered to these Charlotte County Sheriff's office locations:

7474 Utilities Road in Punta Gorda

3280 Tamiami Trail in Port Charlotte

6868 San Casa Road in Englewood

1441 Tamiami Trail in Murdock

Those wishing to provide checks should make them out to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, with "Denise Lee Fund" written in the memo line.

Donations also can be mailed to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, c/o Denise Lee Donation Fund, 7474 Utilities Road, Punta Gorda, FL 33982

Source: Charlotte County Sheriff's Office