INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Two men whose bodies were found within three days of each other at a popular fishing spot suffered from either mental health or drug-related issues, sheriff’s officials said. Deputies said they believe the deaths were not connected.
“At this point, there’s nothing that connects these two guys or these two situations to each other,” Sheriff Eric Flowers said during a Thursday news conference at the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
“We’ve done autopsies on both of these bodies. There’s no violence, no bullet wounds, no stab wounds…nothing that leads us to believe there was violence associated with either. It’s really a sad case.”
The men were both captured on surveillance footage walking along northbound U.S. 1 Sunday before their bodies were later discovered by fishermen, sheriff’s officials say. Both men were found in the same area but on opposite sides of the Sebastian River Bridge.
One of the men struggled with fentanyl use and mental health issues, Flowers said. The other was on pre-trial release for aggravated battery and had a history of seizures, sheriff’s officials said.
Sheriff’s officials said they do not believe any foul play was suspected in either case.
“We have nothing that leads us to believe this is anything but two random incidents that unfortunately happened in the same area,” Flowers said. “Until we get the toxicology results back, we won’t be able to say exactly what caused the deaths in both cases.”
The body of 44-year-old James Thompson was found by two fishermen Monday afternoon along the shoreline on the southwest side of the Sebastian River Bridge. Two days later, another fisherman located the body of a 65-year-old man on the southeast side of the bridge, across the street from where Thompson’s body was discovered.
The bodies were found about 100 yards apart from each other, Flowers said. The name of the newly discovered body was not released Thursday.
“Kudos to the fisherman for coming forward and letting us know about the bodies,” Flowers said.
There were no items found near the bodies, sheriff’s officials said. Sheriff’s officials say they do not believe the bodies were in the water before being found.
Thompson was last seen about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 5, walking along northbound U.S. 1.
Flowers said Thompson, who had been staying at the Sebastian Sands Motel, had a history of fentanyl use and mental health issues. Thompson was a longtime Brevard County resident and had previously been to rehab facilities in Brevard, sheriff’s officials said.
“On the third of July, (Thompson) made a purchase of methamphetamine. He went into a manic state,” Flowers said. “At one point, after the drug purchase, he had been begging his mother to go to rehab. He knew he had problems. He made statements about overdosing on fentanyl.”
His mother, Jody Thompson, said she planned to take her son to rehab Sunday evening or Monday. When she didn’t hear from him, Jody Thompson became concerned.
“I spoke to him over the phone Sunday. He was in a pretty bad place,” Jody Thompson said. “He called me to see if I would take him to a mental health facility in Titusville.”
Details on the amount of methamphetamine and purchased and where Thompson got the drugs were not immediately available.
Flowers said the man on pre-trial release had a temporary address in Sebastian with his brother. The man committed aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in Broward County and was arrested by the Plantation Police Department before his release.
“Plantation was in the process of obtaining a warrant for him for absconding on the pre-trial release for being up here in Indian River County,” Flowers said. “He had a serious history of seizures and had been in the Orlando Health Sebastian River Hospital.”
Flowers said the man’s brother had taken him back to the hospital on Sunday morning. The man told his brother “I’m not going back to the hospital.”
Flowers said the man walked away from the hospital against medical advice. His brother last saw him walking north at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, July 5.
“We have video of him walking as well walking along U.S. 1,” Flowers said.
Flowers said there’s been recent overdoses in Indian River County. The sheriff said the investigation into the deaths remain active.
“It’s possible there’s some bad fentanyl, methamphetamine or something on the streets,” Flowers said. “I urge caution to drug users or abusers to seek treatment as soon as possible. Be cautious out there.”
Photos by Joshua Kodis
