Body found shot, stabbed in waterway 26 years ago, Florida cops say. Now he’s identified
A body first found in a Florida waterway 26 years ago has now been identified as a Canadian man, deputies said.
On Sept. 10, 1997, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received a report that a body was floating in the intercoastal waterway near Flagler Beach, according to an Aug. 17 news release.
“When the body was recovered from the water, deputies determined the male had been bound, shot, and stabbed multiple times before being dumped in the water,” deputies said in the news release.
The man was estimated to be about 30 to 50 years old, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and roughly 170 pounds, deputies said.
After the body was found, an artist with Skullpture Inc. created a facial approximation to help law enforcement officials search for an identification.
While the body now had a face, he remained unidentified for decades.
In 2020, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office created a cold case team with a full-time detective, Sarah Scalia.
A year later, the detective sent bones from the unidentified man to Othram Labs, a Texas-based genealogy lab, according to the release.
Othram provided a DNA profile for the man and used uploaded direct-to-consumer DNA test results to create a list of potential relatives.
Scalia said in an Aug. 17 news conference that detectives were then able to create a web of connections above and below in lineage to narrow down who he might be.
They had a match.
The man was 58-year-old Robert Bruce McPhail, deputies said, a Canadian citizen who had come to South Florida sometime in the mid-1990s.
Detectives are unsure whether McPhail was in the state for pleasure or business, and they don’t know what led to him being found in the northern part of the state, Scalia said in a news conference.
Detectives now know McPhail went by his middle name, Bruce, and was passionate about boats, but they have found no photos of him.
Scalia said a distant relative of McPhail had been contacted in Canada and was making plans for McPhail to be buried with his parents once his body is released.
Now, deputies said the work begins to identify McPhail’s killer.
“If anyone has any information about Robert Bruce McPhail’s life or has information about his murder please submit a tip through email at TIPS@flaglersheriff.com or directly to Cold Case Detective Sarah Scalia at SScalia@flaglersheriff.com, or call 386-313-4911,” according to the release.
Flagler Beach is about 70 miles south of Jacksonville.
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