PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The FBI Tampa Field Office has identified the body found floating off Egmont Key last week as 34-year-old Heather Rose Strickland. A suspicious death investigation is now underway.
The St. Petersburg Police Department responded to a call around 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 to retrieve the body that was brought back to land by the Coast Guard.
According to the FBI, it was a group of fishermen who first discovered Strickland's body 13 miles off the coast of Pinellas County.
Investigators said the body was found wrapped in bedding in a plastic trash bag. The medical examiner's office is still working to determine a cause of death.
Strickland, who is originally from the North Florida region, was last seen on Dec. 5, leaving HCA Florida Largo Hospital, the report reads. The FBI said Strickland spent the last five years in the Clearwater-St. Petersburg area.
Investigators are asking the public for any information on what may have led to Strickland's death. If you have a tip, call the FBI Tampa Field Office at (813) 253-1000 or submit the tip anonymously online.
