LAKELAND, FL – Police last night found the body of missing teenager Charlie Roberts in the Green Swap wildlife refuge area and today have announced the investigation is now a murder case.
Today, the department said they are investigating the incident as a homicide, but released no further information.
Here is the report issued earlier today by the department:
Yesterday, February 24, 2021, Sumter County Deputies conducted an exhaustive search, including the use of Drones, ATVs, K-9’s and our helicopter in an effort to locate the victim, Charlie Roberts. Charlie Roberts, B/M, 12/05/2002, was initially reported missing to Lakeland Police Department 02/24/2021 after a family member lost contact with him. Sadly, Roberts was located in the Green Swamp area of Sumter County off of SR 471 deceased. The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office investigating Charlie Roberts’ death as a homicide investigation and coordinating our investigative efforts with Lakeland Police Department. We want to thank Florida Fish & Wildlife for their assistance in this case.
This is an active investigation, no further information is available at this time. We are asking anyone with information about this case to contact the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 352-569-1680 or to remain anonymous contact Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS(8477)
Attributions in this article: Map data ©2019 Google, Photo © BigStock Photos. Hand out photos courtesy of reporting agency. Press releases are the intellectual property of the issuing agency or corporation. Please report any photo, copyright or intellectual property violations to news@shorewsnetwork.com.
