EDGEWATER, Fla. – A man who ran from authorities after fleeing in a stolen truck he was driving was found dead in the inter-coastal waterway hours later, according to the Edgewater Police Department.
Police said they spotted the stolen Ford F-150 shortly after midnight Thursday on U.S. Highway 1 and attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled.
Recommended Videos
Stop sticks were successfully deployed and the truck came to a stop on the 400 block of Riverside Drive, according to a news release.
Authorities said the driver, 45-year-old Craig McCollum, ran away from the truck before they arrived but the passenger, 23-year-old Leighann Craig, remained at the scene and was arrested on a grand theft motor vehicle charge.
An extensive search of the land and the inter-coastal waterway was conducted for about two hours but McCollum was not located.
At about 10:15 a.m. Thursday, a citizen found McCollum dead in the inter-coastal waterway near Riverside Drive, according to a news release.
Police are investigating. McCollum’s cause of death will not be available until an autopsy is conducted.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Edgewater police dispatch at 386-424-2000.