Vero Beach police pulled a submerged vehicle out of the Indian River Lagoon on Thursday and found an 86-year-old man dead inside. Officers had been called to the area of 200 Greytwig Road after someone reported a damaged fence near the seawall, and what they found at the water's edge led to the grim recovery.
The Vero Beach Police Department said the vehicle contained a deceased 86-year-old white male who resided near the area, according to CBS12. Police said the man had been reported missing the previous evening.
Call About a Damaged Fence Led Officers to the Water
According to the station's report, officers were initially dispatched to investigate the broken fence near the seawall along Greytwig Road. That response led to the discovery of the submerged vehicle in the lagoon, which crews then pulled from the water.
The department has not released the man's name, and the available information does not explain how the vehicle ended up in the water or whether the damaged fence was connected to what happened.
Other Recent Deaths Near the Lagoon
The case comes amid other unrelated incidents involving bodies found near the Indian River Lagoon system in the county. In nearby Sebastian, investigators looked into the deaths of two men found days apart near the lagoon shoreline, with no signs of violence reported in either case, WPBF reported. The first body, identified as 44-year-old James Thompson, was discovered along U.S. 1 near a popular fishing spot, and a second, heavily decomposed body found days later on the other side of the highway was identified as a 65-year-old man.
Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said investigators did not believe those two deaths were connected to each other. That case is separate from the Vero Beach recovery, and nothing in the available information ties the two together.
