NAPLES, Fla. — The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has identified the person found dead in a North Naples retention pond Tuesday night as 16-year-old Armando Radius.
See The Update from Naples Community Correspondent Mahmoud Bennett Below:
Deputies say Radius was pulled from a pond near the gated Vanderbilt Reserve townhome community just after 7 p.m. He had been reported missing the day before, less than a mile from where his body was discovered.
Divers with the sheriff’s office’s Special Victims Unit and Dive Team searched between Morgan Way and Carnegie Way before locating the teen’s body.
Radius, originally from Haiti, was a student at a local high school and lived in the complex where he was found according to the CCSO report.
“We saw the helicopter last night and wondered,” said Jan Wedig, who lives nearby. “My prayers are for the family and friends. A life was taken too short, obviously, and I’m praying they will have some kind of closure,” she added.
The Collier County School District released the following statement Wednesday:
“We are deeply saddened to confirm that the individual involved in this tragic incident was a student within Collier County Public Schools. Out of respect for the family and in accordance with laws protecting student information, we will not be disclosing the name of the school the student attended. Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and all those affected by this loss. In response to this tragedy, the district will have additional counseling support available on-site for students and staff when school resumes next Monday, following spring break. We ask for understanding and respect for the privacy of the family and the school community during this time.”
The sheriff’s office says the circumstances surrounding Radius’s death do not appear suspicious.
The official cause remains under investigation by the medical examiner’s office.
UPDATE March 12 at11:15 a.m.:
The Collier County Sheriff's Office identified the body as missing 16-year-old Armando Radius.
He went missing on Monday afternoon near where his body was found.
The circumstances of his death are not known at this time.
Fox 4's Mahmoud Bennett confirmed Radius was a Collier County Public Schools student.
We are deeply saddened to confirm the individual involved in the tragic incident was a student within Collier County Public Schools. Out of respect for the family and in accordance with laws protecting student information, we will not be disclosing the name of the school the student attended. Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and all those affected by this loss. In response to this tragedy, the District will have additional counseling support available on-site for students and staff when school resumes next Monday, following spring break. We ask for understanding and respect for the privacy of the family and the school community during this time.
The district would not say what school Radius went to.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The Collier County Sheriff's Office says they have recovered a body from a pond in Naples.
Deputies were called out to Carnegie Way north of Vanderbilt Beach Road around 7:40pm on Tuesday night.
Carnegie Way is inside the community of Vanderbilt Reserve, a gated townhome community with two retention ponds on the property.
The Sheriff's Office says at this time they cannot identify the victim.
They also said they are actively investigating the death.
This is a developing story, FOX 4 will keep you updated when we learn more.
