Punta Gorda deputies search for clues after woman found dead

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WINK)—Investigators are still trying to identify a woman discovered dead in Hunter's Creek near the Peace River in Charlotte County.

Deputies returned to the area near Tamayo Drive and Lafayette Street in Punta Gorda, knocking on doors and talking with neighbors. 

Investigators don't have much to go on. The woman was between 50 and 80 years old, about 5'5" with light-colored hair.

Neighbors said deputies are going door to door, asking who lives in each home and how well residents know each other. They also wanted to know if anything seemed off in the days leading up to the discovery and if anyone hadn't been seen recently.

Randy Nation, a Punta Gorda neighbor, was surprised to see investigators back in the area again.

"It's a nice, nice neighborhood. had no problem," Nation said.

Just down the street from the Nation's home, there was a different scene.

"I saw a couple of police officers in their gear and everything, walking house to house," Nation said. "I didn't know what they were actually doing there at the time, but now I don't realize that they are investigating that… I guess it would be the missing woman."

Chris Hall with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said this type of action is necessary.

"This case is taking a little bit longer than we would like, because we don't know who she is, which makes it extremely challenging to find out exactly what happened," Hall said. "We've got boots on the ground. We're going door to door. We're asking questions. We're following up on tips that we have received, trying to vet those things."

So far, Hall has no leads to share.

"No leads that I'm able to share at this moment. What I can say is that we have received a few tips, and we are doing the work and vetting those and digging through them," Hall said.

Any piece of information helps.

"We're asking our community to help us out. If there's anybody who has even the slightest bit of information, you might be the one who helps break this thing," Hall said. "More importantly, we have people who loved this person somewhere out there, somebody is missing their loved one, and they may not realize that that person is no longer with us. We want to be able to bring some closure to them."

As the search continues, Nation said he hopes for answers.

"You always hope they find out what happened and who did what," Nation said. "I wouldn't want it to happen to anybody, let alone the neighbors and my family."

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said it will continue to go door to door in the neighborhood with the hope of finding a lead. If you have any information, contact the sheriff's office.