Skeletal remains discovered in north Sarasota

The discovery of skeletal remains in northern Sarasota County just outside the Sarasota city limit prompted a multiple-agency response to a wooded area near Newtown. 

On the morning of Friday, May 29, construction workers discovered the partial human remains in a wooded lot off Leonard Reid Avenue just east of U.S. 301. Leonard Reid Avenue runs parallel to the railroad track between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Myrtle Street.

Members of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, Criminal Investigations Section, Emergency Response Team and Sarasota K-9 Search and Rescue were on scene throughout the weekend searching the area in an attempt to locate additional remains and any potential evidence.

Florida Gulf Coast University’s Human Identity and Trauma Analysis program and the District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office were brought in on Sunday to coordinate efforts to identify and locate any additional remains. 

At this time, the approximate age, gender, manner of death and how long the remains have been at the site is undetermined. 

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact SCSO’s Criminal Investigations Section at 941-861-4900.