A Florida Keys man was missing for nearly 3 years. Cops just solved part of the mystery
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has identified human remains found in the Florida Keys woods in April as those of a man who disappeared in January 2020.
The sheriff’s office said the man is Mark J. Miller, who hadn’t been seen since having a mental health episode at Robbie’s Marina on Upper Matecumbe Key in Islamoada. It’s a popular roadside attraction at mile marker 78 where he both lived and worked in the kitchen of the bar and grill.
Detectives don’t suspect foul play in his death, sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt said.
After colleagues checked on him on Jan. 6, 2020, at the trailer in which he lived on the marina property, Miller ran to U.S. 1 and began yelling and waving at passing cars, according to a sheriff’s report at the time. He then jumped on the roof of a passing SUV, taking Miller out of the view of the co-worker, the report states.
Following the incident, Miller’s friends at Robbie’s searched for him around the property.
“Detectives have been looking for Miller since that time and followed up on multiple leads,” Linhardt said.
The people who found him in April were in the woods hunting for iguanas, Linhardt said. The body was found at mile marker 77, about a mile from where he was last seen, according to the sheriff’s office.
Rachel Patrick, one of Miller’s sisters, said that she and her siblings are relieved to have some closure in knowing what happened to their brother.
“We’re still devastated to learn that our brother is no longer living,” Patrick said.
Sheriff’s office Major Crimes detectives sent DNA and dental records from the remains to a Miami-Dade County forensics lab, which matched them to Miller, according to the sheriff’s office.
“While I’m relieved we have resolved this case, my heart goes out to the Miller family,” Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a statement. “I want to thank the detectives who investigated this case for their tireless work.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 4:01 PM.
