FBI identifies body of woman found floating off Florida coast

The body of a woman found floating near an island in Florida last week was identified Friday by officials from the FBI.

According to a release from the FBI, Heather Rose Strickland, 34, was discovered on Dec. 10 after the U.S. Coast Guard received a call shortly before noon from a group of fishermen who found her body floating 13 miles off the coast of Egmont Key in west central Florida’s Tampa Bay region.

Strickland was found wrapped in bedding in a plastic trash bag, the release said. Investigators are awaiting toxicology reports from the medical examiner’s office to determine her cause of death. 

Strickland was last seen on Dec. 5 leaving HCA Florida Largo Hospital. Originally from north Florida, Strickland spent the past five years in the Clearwater and St. Petersburg area. Both cities are located in Tampa Bay.

The FBI is leading the investigation because the body was located in international waters.

Anyone with information is being encouraged to call the FBI Tampa field office at (813) 253-1000 or submit tips to tips.fbi.gov.