A 75-year-old Alachua County man is dead after being found in the water at Ichetucknee Springs State Park, and Columbia County deputies have since identified him as Dennis John Faust. The discovery began with a couple who spotted a float stuck midstream with a body hanging on by one arm, prompting a 911 call and a desperate rescue attempt before deputies arrived.
According to News4JAX, deputies responded to Ichetucknee Springs State Park on October 21 after a deceased person was reported in the springs. A witness pulled the man out of the water after the couple's discovery, and park attendants reportedly recognized him as a regular visitor to the spring. The Columbia County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of the 75-year-old man, per the agency's account relayed by the outlet.
An earlier report from wcjb.com confirmed that a person died Thursday at Ichetucknee Springs State Park, according to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, though deputies had not released the person's identity at that time, nor said which agency had taken control of the investigation. A separate WCJB news page later described the deceased as a 75-year-old Alachua County man found Thursday. A WCJB video report published afterward carried the headline confirming that Columbia County deputies had identified the man found dead at Ichetucknee Springs.
Identity Confirmed, Cause Still Pending
The seed report identifying the man as Dennis John Faust notes that detectives reported there appeared to be no signs of foul play. The medical examiner's office will provide a final determination of death, according to the same account. No additional details about the circumstances leading up to the discovery have been released.
Ichetucknee Springs State Park, a popular tubing and swimming destination in Columbia County, has seen other fatal incidents at Florida's natural springs in recent years. An Associated Press report covered a Tampa Bay-area teenager who died from an apparent drowning after visiting a north Florida spring, and a WESH report detailed the death of a 21-year-old at De Leon Springs State Park in a drowning incident. Those cases remain separate from the investigation into Faust's death, which has not been attributed to drowning in any official statement reviewed for this report.
