Crime & Safety
Missing Man’s Body Pulled From Tampa Bay
Pinellas Park Police say a body recovered from Tampa Bay Wednesday belongs to a man charged in a fatal hit-and-run in May.
PINELLAS PARK, FL — The Pinellas Park Police Department has confirmed the identity of a man whose body was pulled from Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Police say Ryan Andrew Mogensen, 28, had been reported missing by his family on Monday.
Police say Mogensen’s vehicle was found on top of the Skyway Bridge on July 10, shortly after his family reported him missing. Mogensen, however, remained missing until authorities recovered a body from Tampa Bay’s main shipping channel around 9:30 a.m. July 12.
Find out what's happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The body was taken to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office where the positive identification was made, a July 13 email from the Pinellas Park Police Department said.
Mogensen was arrested on May 30 following a hit-and-run crash that left John Carl Ryan, 61, of Pinellas Park dead. Police initially thought John Ryan struck a parked Hyundai with his motorcycle in the 5500 block of 110 Avenue North. Investigators, however, “were able to locate vehicle parts belonging to another vehicle,” a May email from the police department said.
Find out what's happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Those parts were traced to a black 2001 Chevrolet Corvette and ultimately led to Mogensen’s arrest on one count of leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury or death and three counts of leaving the scene of a crash with property damage.
Mogensen was booked into the Pinellas County Jail following his arrest and was released on June 2.
The police department acknowledged that it typically does not “release or discuss information related to apparent suicide cases,” but said the criminal case prompted it to do so.
With an estimated 42,000 deaths attributed to suicide annually, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists this as the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, there are resources available to help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433). Its website offers services including a live chat.
Keep up with what’s happening by following St. Pete Patch on Facebook.
Image via Shutterstock
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
