LAKELAND, Fla. — A Lakeland man with late-stage Alzheimer's was found dead Friday morning in Hurricane Milton floodwaters, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies say 83-year-old Marco Grillo and his wife, Suzanne, were sleeping in their van at the front of their Alderman Road neighborhood after their home flooded during the hurricane. Grillo reportedly wandered away on Thursday night.
Just after 7:30 a.m. Friday, the sheriff's office air unit saw the man's body floating in floodwaters behind the couple's home.
"Despite Mr. Grillo being found in his backyard, the area was so flooded that our Aviation Unit had to direct deputies on an airboat to him," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "Our prayers are with his family."
In addition to Alzheimer's disease, investigators say Grillo had a heart condition and bad circulation. The investigation into hs death is ongoing.
