TAMPA, Fla. – A deceased woman was found wrapped in a trash bag off Florida’s Gulf Coast last weekend. The FBI has identified her as 34-year-old Heather Rose Strickland. They are calling her death “suspicious” and a homicide investigation is underway.
Strickland’s body was discovered last Saturday floating off Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay, according to the FBI’s Tampa Field Office, the New York Post reported.
“Heather Rose Strickland was last seen on December 5, 2022, leaving HCA Florida Largo Hospital at 201 14th Street Southwest in Largo, Florida,” the bureau said. “Originally from the North Florida region, Strickland spent the last five years in the Clearwater-St. Petersburg area.”
“The FBI is asking the public to assist with any information that helps law enforcement piece together the events that led to Strickland’s death,” it added.
Strickland’s body was first located by fishermen operating in the area. Witnesses said they were spearfishing when they went for a dive. As they headed to the next spot, they found the trash bag. However, they quickly realized it was not rubbish when they tried to pick it up.
They discovered a canvas bag inside a plastic bag. They cut through the bags and saw skin along with what they believed to be a bra strap or bikini top. Upon making the discovery they made a distress call for law enforcement assistance.
“The body was found wrapped in bedding in a plastic trash bag,” authorities said, The Post reported.
Strickland stood about 5 feet 5 inches tall, with “a tattoo on the right side of her neck of ‘B’ and ‘E’ written in Old English Script and a Rose tattoo on the outside of her right thigh,” according to the FBI.
Since the body was located in federal waters — about 13 miles off the coast — the FBI is the lead agency handling the homicide investigation.
