SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — A woman's body was dropped over a bridge in Sumter County over 50 years ago. Now, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) held a press conference identifying her and providing new details on the cold case.
SCSO said the woman was identified as Maureen Minor. She was known to her friends and family as "Cookie."
Minor was born in Maine in 1949. She would be 76 years old today. Officials said her last known address was in Tampa when she was 21 years old.
According to SCSO, she was estranged from her husband, Emery. Their marriage was tumultuous and the two had separated before her death.
On Feb. 19, 1971, the body of a white female was found by two hitchhikers walking across the Lake Panasoffkee Bridge on I-75 in Sumter County, SCSO said. Officials said it looked like the woman's body was rolled up in a piece of carpet and dropped into the water under the bridge. The woman was never identified.
WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE HERE
In March of 2012, SCSO said detectives requested the Anthropology Department at the University of South Florida (USF) conduct further testing on the 41-year-old remains. They were able to create a new composite image of the victim.
USF's Geological Sciences department examined the woman's teeth and determined she may have been of Greek descent, SCSO said.
Investigators said Emery is a person of interest but is not currently a suspect.
This is a developing story. Tampa Bay 28 will provide more details as they become available.
County responds to community concerns, acknowledges work still needed
After an hour-long tour of the entire facility with county officials, Tampa Bay 28 reporter Haley Zarcone got answers to many of those questions—and found the county acknowledges some issues that still need to be addressed.
