Crime & Safety

Man, 80, Drowns in Plant City Pond, Cries Reportedly Heard

Were the cries heard by an RV park resident off McIntosh Road in Plant City the fervent pleas of an 80-year-old man with dementia, who reportedly drowned in a nearby pond? The report was filed by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

 

Before octogenarian Joseph Edgar Ross was found dead Nov. 3 in a Plant City pond near his home in an RV park off McIntosh Road, a resident reported hearing cries the night before, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

That call — about cries heard Nov. 2 at around 9:30 p.m., which stopped about five minutes later — was placed to the sheriff's office at around midnight. The report notes that the resident, who "thought someone was yelling for help," called the sheriff's office about two- and a-half hours later.

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Three deputies arrived on the scene after midnight, at the Tampa East RV Resort Park at 4630 McIntosh Road. They reportedly searched for about 30 minutes both the RV park and a pond in the park, which was filled with underwater vegetation.

Later that day, at about 10 a.m., Ross's body was discovered. His family said he suffered from dementia. 

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The report concludes: "It appears that Ross wandered into the pond and drowned."


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