Crime & Safety
Body Found in Gulf Could Be Swimmer Missing Since Sunday
The body is believed to be that of a man who was drinking before he tried to swim from the Holiday Inn Sunspree to Shephard's Beach Resort Sunday evening, investigators say.
The discovery of a body floating three miles offshore is believed to be that of a man who drowned over the weekend at Clearwater Beach.
Boaters on the Reel Deal fishing boat found the body and called Coast Guard officials at 7:34 a.m. Tuesday, Rob Shaw, Clearwater Police spokesman, said in a release.
Members from Coast Guard Station Sand Key met the boat and brought back the body about an hour later.
The body is believed to be that of a 40-year old man who was last seen at 5 p.m. Sunday behind the Holiday Inn Sunspree, 521 S. Gulfview Blvd., Shaw said.
"He was there with his cousin and her family when he told her he was going to swim to nearby Shephard's Beach Resort," Shaw said in a release.
The man was drinking before he tried to swim from one hotel to the other, the cousin told investigators.
The cousin went to look for him at 8 p.m. at Shephard's when she and her children had to leave but she could not find him, Shaw said.
The man was not reported missing to Clearwater Police until Monday evening, Shaw said.
The Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office will do an autopsy to confirm the cause of death and confirm the identity.
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