DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (WESH) —The family of an elderly man missing from a Daytona Beach assisted living facility confirmed a body found Sunday is that of Harold Cantrell.
The body was discovered in the backyard of a home on Fairmount Road in Daytona Beach.
Cantrell, a Navy veteran, was living at Indigo Palms as he struggled with dementia. Despite days of searching by family, friends, volunteers and police, he wasn’t discovered until Sunday.
It was a very grim discovery for neighbors as the badly decomposed body of a man, tangled up in a back fence, was found.
Neighbors said they had been smelling something bad for quite a while, but assumed that recent rain probably caused a sewage back up.
Police are waiting for the medical examiner to confirm the dead man’s identity, but Cantrell’s son told us by phone it is his father and that though loved ones are grieving, they are relieved he’s been found and they can begin to get closure.
Jon Cantrell went on to thank everyone involved in the search efforts.
Family members previously said they believed Cantrell left the assisted living facility while trying to go home.
Funeral services are scheduled for August.
The family said they’re asking that in lieu of flowers, people donate to the local Alzheimer’s Association.STORIES OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:
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