Belinda said she ran into the water and told the man to get on his back and allow the waves to carry him.<\/p>\n
![\"Double](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/936c31571a95317d3c6a86e02c2c5a36.jpeg\"\/)
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Double murder suspect Jesse Scott Ellis
Credit: Vero Beach Police<\/p>\n
Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The distressed swimmer told Belinds he was \u201cexhausted and tired\u201d as she tried to help him.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n (L-R) Victims Stacie E. Mason and Danny J. Ooley She told the outlet: \u201cI said, \u2018Are you all right?\u2019 And he said, \u2018No, I\u2019m exhausted. I would never go out that far again’\u2026 And he said, \u2018I think I\u2019m going to take a long vacation.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Mason and Ooley were Indian River County employees who worked for the public works department.<\/p>\n Belinda told WPBF that she did not know at the time that the man she had helped was a homicide suspect.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “I could not leave him in the water no matter what,” Belinda told the outlet. “Everybody is going through something.”<\/p>\n According to a press conference shared by local outlet TCPalm<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey said that detectives identified Mason\u2019s husband of 13 years, Ellis, as a person of interest after reviewing surveillance footage.<\/p>\n Currey said the couple had been separating and moving toward divorce in recent months<\/a>, and their home was being sold. He also added that it appeared Mason and Ooley were romantically involved.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Vero Beach Police Department was contacted for further information and comment by PEOPLE.<\/p>\n![\"(L-R)](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5ffef11b1379eec16f4a88084701cb1c.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: CRYSTAL VANDER WEIT\/TCPALM \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images (2)<\/p>\n