BRADENTON, Fla. — Elisa Hunt never expected the brunch she shared with her aunt the week before Christmas would be the last time she’d ever see her alive.
Michelle Hunt’s death later that same day on Dec. 16, 2018, continues to haunt her loved ones and perplex investigators.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Elisa Hunt, Michelle’s niece. “We just want to have the answers and just know what happened.”
What investigators do know is that the 45-year-old realtor took a boat ride with her on again-off again boyfriend of five years later that day and now detectives say that boyfriend has stopped returning their calls.
“The boyfriend, who remains nameless because he’s not a person of interest or a suspect, doesn’t really want to talk to us," said Randy Warren, public information officer with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
"But he is the one who knows what happened.”
According to investigators, the two set off from the Phillipe Harbor Club Marina in Sarasota and eventually made their way to the Casey Key Fish House in Osprey.
But while at the Casey Key Fish House, Michelle’s boyfriend told investigators she “fell” at the dock, so they turned around and returned to the marina. Michelle got sick and started vomiting on the boat, her boyfriend told investigators.
“His story is that she fell off the dock and that she wasn’t feeling good the rest of the time,” Warren said. “Witnesses are key because there were people at the fish house on Casey Key, there were also people at Phillipe Harbor where they put the boat in and came back.”
Investigators believe Casey Key and the marine are likely the last places any person other than her boyfriend would’ve seen Michelle alive. They’re asking witnesses to come forward.
Upon returning to the marina, Hunt’s boyfriend told investigators they went to her Lakewood Ranch home, not to a doctor. From there, the details grow murky.
At some point, Michelle went unconscious and her boyfriend called 911.
She was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead that night.
“It’s so hard to process,” Elisa Hunt said. “She was very young with no issues, no health issues.”
Elisa says she was stunned to get the call from Michelle’s boyfriend to come to the hospital because she hadn’t realized the two were back together. She says the two had a troubled past with some relatives suggesting Michelle had been abused.
As questions mount Elisa says the family is desperate for answers
“I’m disappointed that the person who was with her has not come forward to discuss the details about what has happened,” Elisa Hunt said. “[Michelle] was always willing to help everybody in every aspect and now we need help for her.”
Investigators say a cause of death has not yet been determined by the medical examiner.
10News is not naming Hunt’s boyfriend because he is not charged with a crime and investigators have not ruled her death as a result of foul play.
Any witnesses at the Casey Key Fish House or Phillipe Harbor Club Marina who feel they might have information on the case are asked to contact the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
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