Key West police: Homeless man’s death not suspicious, but no name released yet

A local homeless man was found dead in the shallow Gulf waters off Key West’s busiest thoroughfare on Christmas morning, said police, who hadn’t released his name by Tuesday.

The man was a “known local” who was born in 1963 and has a son who lives out of town, police said Tuesday, withholding the name until they reach his family.

“We’ve been trying to get a hold of his son since Christmas Day,” said Steve Torrence, the Key West Police Community Affairs Officer, on Tuesday. “We’re doing the best we can.”

The body was found in the water near the 3300 block across from the Wendy’s restaurant sometime Sunday morning, said police spokeswoman Alyson Crean, who said the death was not suspicious.

Police seemed to know who the man was soon after the discovery but released few details and no incident report.

“The homeless man had medical issues and substance abuse issues,” Crean said in a statement Sunday. “No foul play is suspected.”

At about 10 a.m. Sunday, Key West police officers were investigating and had marked with yellow tape the death scene in the 3300 and 3400 blocks of North Roosevelt Boulevard, across from the Inn at Key West.

North Roosevelt Boulevard is Key West’s main roadway, leading from U.S. 1 to Old Town and ending at mile marker zero.

This story was originally published December 25, 2016 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Key West police: Homeless man’s death not suspicious, but no name released yet."