Body found in Keystone Heights where man reported missing

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Fla. – A body was found Tuesday in Spring Lake, where authorities have spent several days searching for a missing man, the Clay County Sheriff's Office said.

A spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office said the dive team has been called in to recover the body. Investigators will have to await a positive identification from the Medical Examiner's Office.

The news comes a day after the Sheriff's Office announced it was suspending its efforts to search the lake for Sean Thomas Leverette. He was last seen swimming with friends Friday afternoon.

His friends reported Leverette, 27, missing about 5 p.m. Friday when they returned to shore only to realize that Leverette was not with him.

The Sheriff's Office brought in the dive team and sonar devices to help map the lake but found no sign of Leverette throughout their search over the weekend.

Investigators said they do not expect foul play was involved. 

"We’ve been told that he was a very strong swimmer," Sheriff's Office public information officer Chris Padgett said. "Again, that is stuff that the detectives and family are somewhat privy to. But we have reason to believe that he was a good swimmer. They were out here all day swimming. There were witnesses around the lake who saw him playing and swimming (and) hanging out through the day. So there’s nothing to lead us to believe he wasn’t a good swimmer."

Spring Lake is located near State Road 21 and County Road 352 in Keystone Heights. It's surrounded largely by private property.