Body of drowned Bradenton man found in Braden River, sheriff’s office says
A man who was last seen on Friday as he slipped under the surface of the Braden River has been found dead, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday.
The man is identified as 39-year-old Shaun Wear of Bradenton. On Saturday morning, marine unit deputies found his body floating in the Braden River just north of the State Road 70 overpass, the sheriff’s office said, about 400 yards from where he was last seen.
Residents of a Bradenton subdivision reported Wear for trespassing on Friday morning. They said that Wear had been screaming, wading around and pushing on mangroves in the area.
Deputies later made contact with Wear as he stood in waist-high water the middle of the Braden River.
READ MORE: Search on for possible drowning victim in Braden River after deputies spot man go under
“He was not in distress. He was talking to deputies. He identified himself,” sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren told the Bradenton Herald on Friday.
Deputies tried to get Wear to come out of the water, Warren said, but he expressed repeated concerns about going to jail.
As deputies called for a boat and prepared to help Wear out of the water, Wear made a comment about the current, called for help and then went below the surface.
The sheriff’s office began searching for Wear around noon on Friday using a dive team and a drone.
The sheriff’s office said there was no evidence of trauma on Wear’s body. The Medical Examiners Office has ruled the death an accidental drowning.
This story was originally published July 10, 2022 at 12:57 PM.