Detectives know his name, but they haven’t been able to find slaying victim’s family

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office has not yet released the name of the victim of an apparent homicide, whose body was found near an industrial park early Wednesday.

At about 6 a.m. Wednesday, deputies were called to the intersection of 58th Avenue East and 21st Street East, Bradenton and found a man’s body. The victim’s body had visible trauma, and detectives with the Manatee Homicide Investigative Unit were called out and began their investigation.

It took investigators several hours before they were able to identify the victim on Wednesday. They did not immediately release the victim’s identity because they were working to notify his next of kin.

By early Thursday afternoon, the victim’s identity had not been released because detectives had been unable to located a next of kin in Florida, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Dave Bristow. Detectives have also been busy following leads in the case, Bristow added.

The victim is said to be a black male in his 40s or 50s. He was wearing a green sport coat and brown corduroy pants when his body was found.

The intersection where his body was found was at a dead-end behind an industrial park, near a wooded area. Evidence was located by detectives in the wooded area and collected by crime scene technicians.

Anyone with information about the case can call the sheriff’s office at 941-747-3011, ext. 2519, or to remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward Crime Stoppers at 866-634-TIPS or submit an e-tip at manateecrimestoppers.com.

This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Detectives know his name, but they haven’t been able to find slaying victim’s family."