A Palm Beach County, Florida, Sheriff’s deputy was found dead from an apparent medical event Saturday in Columbia County by local law enforcement.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office reported in a news release that it received a request for a welfare check from the deputy’s wife Saturday night. She told the Columbia County SO that her husband was hunting in the county and she could not contact him.
“During the course of the investigation, our watch commander coordinated search efforts with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and relayed our efforts to the on-duty watch commander with Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Various assets were deployed to assist in the search, including a drone from our agency and a helicopter from FWC. A search area was narrowed down based on cell phone data and locating a hunting stand believed to belong to the deputy. The deputy’s truck was later discovered in the area of Benton Tower. Deputies and FWC searched that area and discovered the deputy deceased from an apparent medical emergency. There were no signs of foul play,” the CCSO said in the release.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with this deputy’s family and co-workers,” said Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter. “I am proud of our deputies for partnering with other agencies and utilizing the resources available to them. They did not hesitate to exhaust every measure to find this individual so quickly and bring this family some closure.”
The deceased deputy’s name has not been released.
