Boater finds young woman dead in Florida marsh, cops say. Cause of death investigated

A woman’s body was discovered in a north Florida marsh and investigators are not sure of her identity or the cause of death, according to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.

The discovery was made Sunday, Aug. 14, near the Nassau-Duval county line, officials said. The area is just north of Jacksonville on Florida’s northeast coast.

“A boater was out along the Nassau River when he discovered a body of what appeared to be a young woman possibly in her 20s or 30s,” the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office reported in a news release.

“She was discovered in a grassy marsh about a (half) mile east of U.S. 17.”

The Duval County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine a cause of death and how long she was in the water. “We are waiting for additional information to help identify the victim,” Nassau County officials said.

Investigators are calling the death “suspicious,” due to evidence of “trauma,” according to station WJXT.

The angler found the body around 10:30 a.m., near a boat ramp “not far from the Half Moon Island Preserve,” the station reported.

Half Moon Island Preserve is a city-owned 267-acre tidal marsh park, with a boat ramp on the Nassau River “located off North Main Street right before the county line,” the city of Jacksonville says.

This story was originally published August 15, 2022 at 8:06 AM with the headline "Boater finds young woman dead in Florida marsh, cops say. Cause of death investigated."