MCSO: Man found in pond likely died in drowning or medical event; missing for 20 days
MARTIN COUNTY — The man found dead in a Palm City pond was a 46-year-old from Broward County who had been missing for 20 days, according to the Martin County Sheriff's Office.
No foul play is suspected and investigators believe the man's death was an accident, said Chief Deputy John Budensiek.
Sheriff's officials withheld the name of the man as they are still trying to contact direct family to notify them of the man's death, the chief deputy said.
Investigators do not know whether the man's close family is in Broward County or out of the country, Budensiek said.
Though the medical examiner has yet to complete an autopsy, sheriff's investigators believe it's likely the man drowned or died of a medical event, Budensiek said.
"Through our investigation it looks as if there's nothing nefarious that took place," Budensiek said.
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The man was found in a pond near Southwest Sunshine Farms Way, which is south of State Road 714 off Southwest Citrus Boulevard.
With decomposition of the body, Budensiek said the man was likely in the water for 20 days and investigators have not been definitive on the cause of death.
Budensiek said the man was part of a church retreat at Segadores De Vida in Palm City on Sept. 2 and went missing that weekend. The congregation the man was with is based in Broward County.
For about 20 days, none of the group contacted law enforcement, and landscapers on a nearby farm found the man on Sept. 22, the chief deputy said.
"They just said they were trying to handle it on their own," Budensiek said. "They had checked jails and hospitals with negative results and they had not, for that 20-day period, notified law enforcement."
He said the man appears to be undocumented from El Salvador.
Budensiek said sheriff's investigators would not ask Immigrations and Customs Enforcement for help to locate a missing undocumented person.
The only communication investigators would have with ICE would be to find out if immigration authorities already took that person into custody.
Budensiek said anybody concerned about reporting an undocumented person's disappearance to local law enforcement should always report it because they will not act as federal law enforcement.
"We're local law enforcement if anyone reports a missing person, we're going to treat it like any missing person." Budensiek said. "Our job is to find them, make sure that they're safe ..."
Mauricio La Plante is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm focusing on Martin County. Follow him on Twitter @mslaplantenews or email him at Mauricio.LaPlante@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Man found dead in Palm City likely died drowning, foul play ruled out
