JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police say a body was found in an SUV pulled from a pond on Belfort Oaks Place on the Southside on Sunday afternoon.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has not determined if the body is male or female. JSO is reviewing the missing person's database, but a woman at the scene claims the body is that of her son, Douglas Swanson, who disappeared after a party in December on the Southside.
"As soon as I saw it, I knew. As soon as I saw it by the location of town, I knew it was going to be him. There was no doubt in my mind," said Sheril Swanson, Douglas' mother. "I've been saying since day one that he crashed his truck and was in the water. I've been saying it since day one, that was my gut. And I kept being told, no, there's no retention ponds deep enough to hide a truck of that size."
Police say a cable crew first noticed the roof of the car sticking up from the water and called authorities.
"At this time, Missing Persons, the Homicide Unit, and Traffic Homicide will be here on the scene as well as investigators conducting the investigation to determine exactly what happened here," said Sgt. Chuck Ford. "At this point, it's very early , we are not sure of all the details. But we will be here throughout the night trying to make those determinations. Part of our investigation will be to check missing persons reports, identity of the vehicle based on tag number, VIN number, things like that."