Boater discovers decomposing body near Rattlesnake Key: MCSO

TERRA CEIA, Fla. - The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after they say a boater found a ‘badly decomposed’ body in Miquel Bay on Saturday. 

Investigators say the boater found the body in shallow water near Rattlesnake Key, but before deputies could recover it, the current carried it away. 

The sheriff’s office’s aviation and marine units were able to find it on Sunday morning on the shoreline of Rattlesnake Key. 

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Detectives say they did not find any type of identification with the body. They also say they do not know where the body came from or how long it had been in the water. 

According to MCSO, the Medical Examiner is doing an autopsy on the remains Monday afternoon to begin the process of confirming their gender and cause of death. 

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