Man Falls to his Death from Highway Overpass

A man was found dead Tuesday by the city's water resources compound located, at 1601 3rd Ave. N. Police have determined that Leroy Harris Fowler Jr. fell to his death from an overpass on I-275. 

Fowler Jr., 62, was reported missing to the St. Petersburg Police on Monday, by his wife, Sharon Fowler.

According to the initial report, Fowler had driven from his home in Tampa to visit a relative in south St. Petersburg on Oct. 27. That relative later reported that Mr. Fowler had arrived at her home and then left at about 3:30 p.m. that afternoon driving his 1999 Volvo S70 sedan, police said.

Sharon Fowler, police said, reported that when her husband had not returned home she became concerned and drove to St. Petersburg via the Interstate to see if see could find him.

She spotted his vehicle parked on the side of the highway of north bound I-275 near the 22 Avenue North exit. She found the car unoccupied, but with a flat tire and no signs of her husband. She had the vehicle towed and later called the police to report her husband missing.

According to detectives it appears that Mr. Fowler left the car after it developed the flat tire, walked south to I-275 and then apparently fell off the overpass into a secluded area of the Water Resources compound.

Detectives believe that this likely occurred sometime on Saturday, Oct. 27 during a period when no one was actively working in the compound.

There is no immediate evidence that Mr. Fowler was victim of foul play, was struck by a vehicle or was otherwise attempting to harm himself.

According to police, since there is an oak tree adjacent to where Mr. Fowler was found, homicide detectives speculate that he may have been attempting to get off the overpass by climbing down the tree when he fell. A broken tree branch was found near the body.

A precise cause of death is pending an autopsy by the Medical Examiner's Office, police said.