Missing Winter Garden man found dead in Florida Keys

WINTER GARDEN  A Winter Garden man who was reported missing in February was found dead in a wooded area in south Florida Monday afternoon.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies had been searching for 53-year-old Eric Russel Noyes after Winter Garden police called earlier this week. Winter Garden police told deputies they had information from a cell phone ping that Noyes was on Lower Matecumbe Key, an island in the upper Florida Keys.

Deputies said Winter Garden Police also had information that Noyes might be staying in a wooded area near the Safari Lounge and Caloosa Cove Marina. Deputy Ralph Williams found Noyes’s body Monday, Feb. 27, around 3:30 p.m., just south of that area.

Initial examination by the medical examiner indicates that Noyes might have died from a gunshot wound to the head, and a gun was found near his body. Deputies say there were no obvious signs of foul play at the scene.

Noyes had last been seen in Winter Garden on Feb. 9, officials said.

MCSO’s Major Crimes Unit and the medical examiner’s office are continuing their investigation.

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].