Death investigation in Port Charlotte

Authorities are working on a death investigation near Peachland Boulevard in Port Charlotte.

According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation took place Friday afternoon near Peachland Boulevard and Guild Street in Port Charlotte.

A neighbor told WINK News the victim lives in the house.

“I was taking some limbs from my yard, and I was going to throw them in the bushes,” the neighbor said. “All of the sudden, I saw a foot. And you could smell a strong odor.”

Forensics teams have been busy bagging evidence and carrying everything out to their truck.

Neighbors said the area where the body was found was on the other side of a white fence, and it was discovered while one of these neighbors was doing yard work.

Death happens every day, but it’s different when it happens down the street from the place you lay your head every night.

“You just wonder what it is if it’s domestic violence, or someone just died of old age or something,” said Vivienne Long, neighbor.

Neighbor Kevin Haggerty said he and another neighbor saw a dead body.

“The neighbor that lives in that house, he says, ‘I was taking some limbs from my yard, and I was going to throw them in the bushes’. And he says, ‘All of the sudden, I saw a foot, and you could smell a strong odor’. So, he came over here to us and says, ‘It’s good to have witnesses come with you anyway, so the cops don’t think he did it because the guy, the body over there, has no shirt on,'” he said.

Charlotte County deputies have only described this scene as a death investigation, and they’ve been silent on all the other details.

WINK, at the scene, watched as forensics teams showed up and combed through the area, collecting bag after bag of evidence.

Until neighbors know what happened to this person, they don’t know if there’s anything to worry about when it comes to their own safety.

“First thing I thought was, ‘I’m not going to anywhere near it.’ That’s for sure. I saw the body, but you can only see the background side of it. You can see he’s kind of lying down, but not really all the way. There’s something around his neck. I don’t know what that is,” Haggerty said.

WINK did drive by the other side of this area. The vacant lot is also taped off from the other side of the neighborhood.

None of the neighbors have any idea who this person could be.

Some wondered if it might be a homeless person, but everyone also said they couldn’t recall ever seeing a homeless person in this area before.

This is an active investigation.

Stay tuned to WINKNews.com, WINK News App, streaming, and on air for any new developments on this story.