Person found dead inside submerged car near Lover’s Key

One person was found dead Wednesday inside a car in the Town of Fort Myers Beach near Lover’s Key.

The Fort Myers Beach Fire administrative chief said the department got a call just after 4:15 p.m. saying a vehicle was in the water in Big Carlos Pass, near 280 Estrellita Drive. The chief said a passing driver noticed the car in the water.

Once first responders arrived, they found a car completely submerged and a person dead inside the vehicle.

This case has been turned over to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. At 10 p.m., the car was still in the water. A sheriff’s office boat and a towboat were at the scene later that night.

Divers spent hours in the water searching and investigating with flashlights.

Earlier in the day, you could see the car peeking out of the water. And, neighbors say, the only way a car could have gone into the water in the first place was by going through the empty lot.

One neighbor was in shock when they saw the scene. “We never see anything like that on this street. My heart was racing. My thoughts and prayers really just go out to the family of that person.”

There are still many unanswered questions, like how long the car was there and how it ended up there in the first place. WINK News is asking the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for some of those answers.