Osceola County Sheriff’s Office deputies have found an unidentified body in a swampy area along SR 429, approximately one mile from a Kissimmee home where a 73-year-old man went missing on Thanksgiving day.
During a press conference on Thursday, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez provided details regarding the body that was recovered. Lopez says law enforcement officials believe the body is that of Herman McClenton, who was last seen around 4 p.m. on Thursday, November 24, in the vicinity of Secret Key Cove in Kissimmee.
Lopez says the body that was recovered around 1:10 p.m. on Thursday, December 1. The body that was recovered had clothing that matched the description of what McClenton was last seen wearing, and was submerged in a thick, swampy area.
“If you go in that terrain, you’d be very surprised that a person could actually get through there,” said Lopez of the swampy area where the body was discovered.
Lopez says that the OSCO forensics unit and medical examiner are working to positively identify the body, but that it will take time. As of the press conference, the body had not been removed.
“It’s very challenging because of the terrain. It’s very swampy and it’s very thick,” said Lopez. “It’s very hard to get to where he is.”
Lopez says that a dog was utilized to find the scent of McClenton.
The sheriff’s office says that it will provide further information once the medical examiner’s office has completed its investigation into the mater.