BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Nick Monroe said he was surfing Tuesday at Paradise Beach near Indialantic when he discovered a woman’s body floating in the water.
“It was the last thing I expected. Hopefully, I never get to experience it again,” the surfer said.
Monroe said as he and another surfer swam closer to what he first thought was debris, he could see her hair and clothes.
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“Once we noticed it was a body, I kind of was disturbed,” he said. “I didn’t really know how to react. I was kind of frantic.”
Composing himself, Monroe said he put her body on his surfboard and started heading to shore.
“We ended up having a few other surfers out there come to shore and try and clear the beach of any kids and go and get the lifeguards attention and throughout that, I was trying my best to keep my eye on the body and bring her to shore,” he said.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday the body was a 56-year-old woman who was homeless.
“Someone still loved her, so her family or friends now can have closure knowing she’s not lost,” Monroe said.
The surfer suspects she drowned, but her cause of death is still unconfirmed.
In Cocoa Beach, police said a 17-year-old girl drowned Saturday when she was pulled further out to sea by the rip current.
“You don’t want to go out further than you can handle, especially when there’s a swell in the water,” Monroe said. “Mother nature is always stronger.”
The sheriff’s office said it found no suspicious injuries or trauma during its preliminary investigation.
An autopsy could happen Thursday to confirm if the woman drowned.
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