‘She needs justice,’ says family of woman found in trash bag in Gulf of Mexico
Sherrie and John Strickland don’t want people to forget their daughter.
The woman with the striking red hair and green eyes. The woman who had childhood dreams of becoming a model. And the woman who spent nearly her entire life battling mental illness.
The Stricklands don’t know what happened to their daughter, Heather Rose Strickland, whose body was found wrapped in a garbage bag about 13 miles off the coast of Pinellas County in December. But they have not given up on finding answers. The parents believe someone knows what happened to the 34-year-old Pinellas County woman, and they want them to come forward.
“I want to keep this going,” Sherrie Strickland, who is Heather’s stepmother, told the Tampa Bay Times. “I don’t want the case to go cold and everybody forget.”
The FBI Tampa office is investigating Heather Strickland’s death because her body was found in federal waters. An FBI spokesperson said the agency had no new information about the investigation to share this week.
Sherrie and John Strickland said investigators have not yet received their daughter’s toxicology report. The two have been in contact with agents and believe they’ll learn more information sometime this month.
The FBI was receiving leads in December when the details of Heather Strickland’s case were released to the public, Sherrie Strickland said. But in the months since, the tips have slowed. Investigators need more, she said.
“We’re not going to give up, we’re going to keep going,” Sherrie Strickland said. “She needs justice.”
Heather Strickland was last seen leaving HCA Largo Hospital, 201 14th Street SW in Largo, on Dec. 5, agents said.
Heather battled mental illness for much of her life, her parents said in a previous interview with the Times. As she got older, she became addicted to drugs and her mental illness worsened, they said. The two said she spent time in and out of mental hospitals.
Heather had five children, all of whom have been adopted. She loved them all, her parents said.
Sherrie Strickland spoke with Heather a few weeks before her death while she was in a mental hospital in Key Largo. Her stepmother begged her to come home to the Lake City area, where she and John Strickland live. Heather said she didn’t want to, and that she loved where she was living.
Heather had her problems, her father said, but she was a good person.
In the months since Heather Strickland’s death, her parents have had constant reminders of their daughter. Facebook memories pop up each day or someone will call or text asking about her.
“But we’re hanging in there,” John Strickland said.
The couple have their children and grandchildren, and each other, to give them strength.
Heather Strickland’s family and friends, including her children, attended a memorial organized by Sherrie and John. Sherrie Strickland said it was gorgeous.
It’s hard enough to lose a child, Sherrie Strickland said. But for it to happen in this way is even worse.
“So we’re just asking and begging people to come forward,” she said.
The FBI is seeking the public’s help in piecing together the events that led to Strickland’s death. The Bureau asks anyone with information to call the Tampa office at 813-253-1000 or submit a tip to tips.fbi.gov.
