DAYTONA BEACH — Police are investigating the discovery of a decomposed body near where a missing Korean War veteran was last seen when he disappeared nearly three weeks ago after running away from an assisted living facility.
The son of Harold Cantrell, 85, also came to the scene Sunday afternoon after learning that police were at 524 Fairmount Road after they were called about a body found in the backyard of a home, Jon Cantrell said.
Harold Cantrell, who has been missing since July 5, has medical conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia and diabetes. The elderly Cantrell was seen on a video surveillance recording sprinting from the Indigo Palms Healthcare Facility at 570 National Healthcare Drive after a resident opened the gate for him, police said.
Police said Cantrell was last seen wearing a shirt with horizontal black, gray and white stripes, black pants and dark shoes.
Dee Bethea, who along with two other family members found the human remains Sunday morning, said the dead man slumped over the fence in her grandmother’s backyard had on a “striped multicolored shirt and black pants.”
On Sunday, authorities said police were sent to the area of 524 Fairmount Road after a woman smelled a foul odor coming from a backyard. When she checked the backyard, she found the decomposed body, authorities said.
“We received a call of a deceased person in the back of a yard here on Fairmount and we are investigating the cause of death,” Daytona Beach police Capt. Jennifer Krosschell said.
Bethea said that for two days the family had been smelling the distinct odor but they thought it was sewage that had backed up, Bethea said.
The persistent smell lingered, so on Sunday, Bethea and her family went out in the backyard to check what was causing the smell.
“At first, I thought it was just a pile of debris or trash,” Bethea said. “As I watched closer up on it, I realized it was a body that was slumped over across the fence. The body was badly decomposed.”
Krosschell said the decomposed body is that of a man. The captain said Jon Cantrell also arrived on scene “wondering if the deceased person is his father.”
Jon Cantrell said police have not confirmed to him if the body found was that of his father’s, but he said late Sunday police told him that the Medical Examiner is expected to make an identification late Monday morning.
Earlier Sunday, he said he and about 70 other people were still searching for his father and distributed flyers in the neighborhood where the deceased person was found.
“All I can tell you is that if it’s him, if it’s confirmed, you know, we are pleased because at least we know, just to get closure, you know,” Jon Cantrell said.
Krosschell said because of the condition of the body, police would not confirm if the dead person is Harold Cantrell.
“We would definitely like to have closure to Mr. Cantrell, whether this be him or still out searching for him, we would love to have closure to the missing Mr. Harold Cantrell,” Krosschell said.
Bethea said the sight was horrifying, “quite disturbing” and still had her shaken late Sunday afternoon.
“It looked like he was trying to come over the fence into our yard but got caught in the fence,” Bethea said. “He was slumped facedown over the fence. His head was turned to the side.”
http://www.news-journalonline.com/n...und-near-where-missing-navy-veteran-last-seen
What a horrible story. They organized search parties for this guy for several days after he went missing. Would have been nice if everyone in the area took a look in their backyards when that was going on.
The son of Harold Cantrell, 85, also came to the scene Sunday afternoon after learning that police were at 524 Fairmount Road after they were called about a body found in the backyard of a home, Jon Cantrell said.
Harold Cantrell, who has been missing since July 5, has medical conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia and diabetes. The elderly Cantrell was seen on a video surveillance recording sprinting from the Indigo Palms Healthcare Facility at 570 National Healthcare Drive after a resident opened the gate for him, police said.
Police said Cantrell was last seen wearing a shirt with horizontal black, gray and white stripes, black pants and dark shoes.
Dee Bethea, who along with two other family members found the human remains Sunday morning, said the dead man slumped over the fence in her grandmother’s backyard had on a “striped multicolored shirt and black pants.”
On Sunday, authorities said police were sent to the area of 524 Fairmount Road after a woman smelled a foul odor coming from a backyard. When she checked the backyard, she found the decomposed body, authorities said.
“We received a call of a deceased person in the back of a yard here on Fairmount and we are investigating the cause of death,” Daytona Beach police Capt. Jennifer Krosschell said.
Bethea said that for two days the family had been smelling the distinct odor but they thought it was sewage that had backed up, Bethea said.
The persistent smell lingered, so on Sunday, Bethea and her family went out in the backyard to check what was causing the smell.
“At first, I thought it was just a pile of debris or trash,” Bethea said. “As I watched closer up on it, I realized it was a body that was slumped over across the fence. The body was badly decomposed.”
Krosschell said the decomposed body is that of a man. The captain said Jon Cantrell also arrived on scene “wondering if the deceased person is his father.”
Jon Cantrell said police have not confirmed to him if the body found was that of his father’s, but he said late Sunday police told him that the Medical Examiner is expected to make an identification late Monday morning.
Earlier Sunday, he said he and about 70 other people were still searching for his father and distributed flyers in the neighborhood where the deceased person was found.
“All I can tell you is that if it’s him, if it’s confirmed, you know, we are pleased because at least we know, just to get closure, you know,” Jon Cantrell said.
Krosschell said because of the condition of the body, police would not confirm if the dead person is Harold Cantrell.
“We would definitely like to have closure to Mr. Cantrell, whether this be him or still out searching for him, we would love to have closure to the missing Mr. Harold Cantrell,” Krosschell said.
Bethea said the sight was horrifying, “quite disturbing” and still had her shaken late Sunday afternoon.
“It looked like he was trying to come over the fence into our yard but got caught in the fence,” Bethea said. “He was slumped facedown over the fence. His head was turned to the side.”
http://www.news-journalonline.com/n...und-near-where-missing-navy-veteran-last-seen
What a horrible story. They organized search parties for this guy for several days after he went missing. Would have been nice if everyone in the area took a look in their backyards when that was going on.
