NEED TO KNOW
A Florida woman rescued a swimmer in distress, and later learned police believe he is Jesse Scott Ellis, a double homicide suspect on the run
The swimmer in distress told the woman, named Belinda, that he was “exhausted” and wanted to take a “long vacation”
Ellis has been accused of fatally shooting his estranged wife and her alleged romantic partner
A Florida woman rushed to rescue a struggling swimmer, only to later find out that he is a double homicide suspect on the run.
The woman, known only as Belinda, went out for a morning stroll near Riomar Beach in Vero Beach, Florida, on March 24, when she heard a man yelling out for help.
She told ABC affiliate WPBF 25 News: “I could hear a faint ‘help, help, help. I looked and saw someone…in distress.”
Belinda said she ran into the water and told the man to get on his back and allow the waves to carry him.
Double murder suspect Jesse Scott Ellis
Credit: Vero Beach Police
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The distressed swimmer told Belinds he was “exhausted and tired” as she tried to help him.
Police now believe the man is double homicide suspect, Jesse Scott Ellis, 64, who has been accused of fatally shooting his estranged wife, Stacie Mason, 49, and a man thought to be her romantic interest, Danny Ooley, 56.
Video footage released by the Vero Beach Police Department (VBPD) shows the man crawling slowly out of the water, while Belinda crouches next to him.
(L-R) Victims Stacie E. Mason and Danny J. Ooley
Credit: CRYSTAL VANDER WEIT/TCPALM / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images (2)
She told the outlet: “I said, ‘Are you all right?’ And he said, ‘No, I’m exhausted. I would never go out that far again’… And he said, ‘I think I’m going to take a long vacation.’”
Mason and Ooley were Indian River County employees who worked for the public works department.
Belinda told WPBF that she did not know at the time that the man she had helped was a homicide suspect.
Even after learning that police believe the man she rescued is Ellis, Belinda said she still would have helped him. However, she says that she would have called 911 right away.
“I could not leave him in the water no matter what,” Belinda told the outlet. “Everybody is going through something.”
According to a press conference shared by local outlet TCPalm, Ooley and Mason were found with multiple gunshot wounds around 7 a.m. on March 24 in a parking lot at the main branch of the Indian River County Library System in Vero Beach.
Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey said that detectives identified Mason’s husband of 13 years, Ellis, as a person of interest after reviewing surveillance footage.
Currey said the couple had been separating and moving toward divorce in recent months, and their home was being sold. He also added that it appeared Mason and Ooley were romantically involved.
Indian River County authorities are still on the hunt for Ellis. They warned the public not to approach him and urged anyone with information about his whereabouts to call 911, per The Independent.
The Vero Beach Police Department was contacted for further information and comment by PEOPLE.
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