A boater discovered the body of 27-year-old Alex Garland floating in a rim canal off Highway 441 SE on August 7, 2022, two days after the Okeechobee man with autism was last seen in the Treasure Island area. Nearly four years later, no arrests have been made, and his brother Daniel Garland is publicly pleading with anyone who knows something to finally speak up.
Garland was reported missing on August 6, 2022, after he failed to return home, according to investigators. As reported by CBS12 News, witnesses last saw him on Treasure Island around 10 p.m. on August 5, 2022, roughly 36 hours before the boater found his body in the canal, per WQCS.
The Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office initially opened a general death investigation when Garland's body was recovered, then formally upgraded the case to a homicide investigation six weeks later, on September 21, 2022. The station's report notes that OCSO said at the time it would treat the case as a homicide until evidence proved otherwise. Alex Garland's death was ultimately ruled a homicide, and the sheriff's office has said the investigation remains open, though investigators have made no arrests.
A Family Pushing to Keep the Case Alive
Daniel Garland, Alex's brother, contacted CBS12 News in an effort to keep the case in the public eye, saying the family's grief has remained unchanged while they wait for answers. He believes someone out there may hold information that could help investigators finally move the case forward, and he is urging that person to come forward regardless of the consequences.
Daniel described what his brother's life was supposed to look like. Alex wanted his own vehicle and his own home, and he wanted to live independently and eventually have a family of his own. Daniel said Alex was robbed of his plans for a family, for growing up, for a vehicle, and for a home of his own — plans that ended with him in a canal instead.
Complicating the family's efforts, the detective originally assigned to Alex Garland's case is no longer with the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office, a detail that speaks to a common challenge in rural cold cases: investigative continuity fading as personnel move on. Daniel and the rest of Alex's loved ones say they remain determined to seek justice and make sure he is not forgotten.
How Tipsters Can Report Information Anonymously
People with information are encouraged to contact Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office detectives or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers. Calls to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273-8477 are routed through an independent, 24-hour call center based in Texas rather than to local officers, according to Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers, meaning tipsters never speak directly with local deputies during that initial call. Standard cash rewards for anonymous tips leading to an arrest in Florida murder cases typically range from $3,000 to $5,000, with additional state funding available through the Florida Attorney General's Office for certain designated cases.
A Statewide Backlog of Unsolved Killings
Garland's case is one of thousands of open homicide files across Florida. The state carries a backlog of more than 19,000 unsolved homicides dating back to 1965, even as its overall crime rate has fallen steadily over the past five decades, according to the Florida Sheriffs Association. The association's Cold Case Advisory Commission, established in 2015, brings together sheriffs, forensic experts, and prosecutors quarterly to help county agencies like Okeechobee's with DNA research and investigative strategy on unresolved murders.
Locally, the numbers underscore the difficulty small agencies face in clearing homicide cases. Between 2013 and 2023, the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office recorded 16 homicides within its jurisdiction, leaving five cases unresolved — a 31% unsolved rate over that decade, according to data compiled by Police Scorecard.
Time itself is not the obstacle to eventually prosecuting whoever is responsible. Under Florida Statute § 775.15(1), there is no statute of limitations for capital, life, or first-degree felonies, meaning charges can be filed at any point in the future if new evidence surfaces, per the Brancato Law Firm. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement also publishes dedicated guidance for officers investigating cases involving autism spectrum disorders and wandering behaviors, connecting Garland's diagnosis to broader state protocols meant to protect vulnerable adults.
The Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office has a history of turning to media appeals to reignite cold cases, having partnered with regional broadcasters and national outlets like Justice Network in the past to publicize unsolved killings dating back to the late 1990s, including the 1997 murder of Margaret Burnham. For now, the Garland family's best hope remains the same one that has driven past breakthroughs: someone who saw or heard something on Treasure Island four years ago finally deciding to make the call.
