Missing Paddleboarder’s Body Found In Dunedin Waters: Pinellas Sheriff

DUNEDIN, FL — A missing paddleboarder’s body was found Sunday afternoon in the intracoastal waterway just north of the Dunedin Marina, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies with the dive and marine unit’s found Ziad Abdeen 49, around 2:30 p.m.

His next of kin has been notified about his death, the sheriff’s office said. The Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine his cause of death.

Abdeen was reported missing Friday to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office after family members were worried that he didn’t return home from a paddleboarding trip.

While searching Pinellas County locations he was known to launch his paddleboard from, they found his vehicle in the parking lot of the Dunedin Boat Club at 49 Marina Plaza, PCSO said.

Deputies responded to the boat club Saturday around midnight and began searching for Abdeen.

During their investigation, they learned that his vehicle entered the parking lot Friday around 12:45 p.m.

His paddleboard was found under a dock at 2685 St. Joseph’s Drive in Dunedin, the sheriff’s office said.