Winter Haven Police Try To Unravel 37-Year-Old Mystery

WINTER HAVEN, FL -- Winter Haven detectives are attempting to unravel a 37-year-old mystery.

Police have been unable to identify a man who drowned in Lake Silver since June of 1981.

On Friday, investigators released a new artist-generated computer "sketch" of the victim, who was found by a passerby floating face down near the banks of Lake Silver.

"Our investigators have not stopped trying to identify this gentleman even though there is very little to go on," said Public Safety Director Charlie Bird.

The body was found on June 14, 1981 and investigators believe it had been in the water for at least two days.

"There was no apparent trauma to the body and the medical examiner determined the cause of death was by drowning," according to the department's Jamie Brown of the Winter Haven Police Department.

Brown told Patch that the new image was created by FaceLogics, a company that works with a number of Florida law enforcement agencies.

"When people see a pencil drawing, it's hard to imagine a photo," she explained. "However, this technology allows for a photo-quality image that can greatly assist with identification and could very well jog someone's memory -- much more than a pencil sketch."

The body of the victim was cremated before investigators obtained fingerprints, dental records or substantial DNA. Investigators believe the man was in his mid to late 30s.

"The small amount of DNA that was extracted during the autopsy was re-submitted to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification in 2015, unfortunately having no reportable results," said Brown.

Investigators believe the man was not from the Polk County area since there were no reports of missing persons matching his description.

"State and national missing persons' databases have been checked to no avail," Brown added.

To report a tip, call Detective Cooper at 863-401-2256.