COCOA, Fla. – A man's body was found floating in a retention pond Friday afternoon in Cocoa, police said.
A person passing by the water near Plaza Parkway called 911 at 12:45 p.m. after spotting the body floating by the edge of the pond, Cocoa police said.
Detectives said the body of a black male appears to have been in the water for several days. He has yet to be identified, police said.
Brevard County Sheriff’s Office divers were called into to remove the body and try to preserve any evidence.
The large response from authorities drew a crowd Friday.
Grandmother Darlene Pridemore watched investigators closely from up against a fence in her family's backyard.
"I've never seen anything like this," Pridemore told News 6. "It was very scary. It's still very scary. My grandson and I were on the back porch and all of a sudden police cars came barreling down through here and I thought when they jumped in there that somebody died because there's alligators in there and I thought, 'Maybe an alligator got him.'"
Signs around the pond warn of alligators, but police Friday afternoon did not release a cause of death and the man was not identified.
Police said detectives are looking into whether this man was previously reported missing.
The medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
Check back on ClickOrlando.com and watch News 6 for more on this developing story.