FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — Fort Pierce police have identified the woman found dead in the Turn Basin between the north and south bridges Tuesday as Chelsea Nicole Williams.
Police say officers had two separate encounters with the 33-year-old woman in the hours before her body was discovered floating in the water near the city’s turn basin Tuesday morning.
Major Michael Santiago told CBS12 News investigators later determined Williams had previously interacted with officers Monday afternoon at Jaycee Park and again late Monday night near a Cumberland Farms gas station on A1A.
The investigation began around 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 12, when a boater called 911 after spotting what appeared to be a body floating in the turn basin between the north and south bridges to Hutchinson Island.
St. Lucie County Fire District crews and the sheriff’s office marine unit responded and recovered the woman’s body near Seaway Drive before turning the investigation over to Fort Pierce Police.
While processing the scene, Santiago said one officer recognized the woman and realized he had responded to a call involving her the previous afternoon.
According to police, the first encounter happened around 4 p.m. Monday at Jaycee Park after callers reported a woman allegedly being rude, argumentative, and disruptive near the beach area.
When officers arrived, they found the woman in the water, swimming about chest-deep offshore.
Police said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene before being taken to the Museum Pointe Park boat ramp, where Fort Pierce Police Department detectives assumed control of the investigation. An officer with the department later identified the woman as a 33-year-old he had encountered the day before during a service call at Jaycee Park. (WPEC)
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“The officer continued to kind of call her over to see if she could provide him with some information,” Santiago said. “She refused. She was like, ‘I’m just swimming out here, having a good time, minding my own business.’”
Santiago said the woman did not appear to be in distress and showed no obvious signs she needed medical attention. Because the original callers had already left the area and no crime had occurred, the officer cleared the scene.
Investigators later uncovered a second encounter involving the same woman around 11 p.m. Monday near the Cumberland Farms on A1A.
Police were called after reports of either a disturbance or a suspicious person while employees were attempting to close the business for the night.
According to Santiago, callers said the woman had been involved in some type of verbal altercation near the store. By the time officers arrived, she was already walking away along the sidewalk.
“The female did not appear to be in distress at all,” Santiago said. “She dismissed whatever the officer had to say, and she moved along her way.”
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Investigators now believe the woman involved in both service calls is the same woman recovered from the water on Tuesday morning.
Police say the investigation remains active while the medical examiner works to determine the official cause and manner of death. Toxicology testing is also pending.
Currently, there are no apparent signs of trauma or indications of foul play. The investigation remains ongoing pending further review by the Medical Examiner’s Office. Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to contact the Fort Pierce Police Department at 772-462-6800 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at www.tcwatch.org.