MOUNT DORA, Fla. — A missing person report Wednesday led Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies to the discovery of two deceased people, including the missing person and a neighboring resident identified as the suspect, according to the sheriff’s office.
Around 5:30 p.m., deputies responded to a residence in the area of Bay Road in unincorporated Mount Dora after receiving a report of a missing person, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Stephanie Earley said.
When deputies arrived, they discovered a bullet hole in the passenger-side window of the victim’s vehicle and blood inside. While searching the vehicle, deputies found the victim deceased beneath a blanket in the rear hatchback area, Earley said.
Detectives with the Criminal Investigations Bureau responded to the scene, along with Crime Scene Investigations and the Aviation Unit.
As deputies and detectives canvassed the area and interviewed family members and neighbors, they learned the victim had an ongoing dispute with a next-door neighbor over property lines. The neighbor was identified as a suspect.
Deputies attempted to contact the suspect at his residence but were unsuccessful, Earley said. Detectives obtained a search warrant, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team entered the home, where they found the suspect dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The investigation remains active, Earley said.
