The latest development in locating a Black man who went missing last month came from the backyard of a Jacksonville, Fla. woman who said she saw his toes peeking up from underneath her yard.
Deputies from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in Magnolia Gardens. The homeowner told CBS 47 News the residence had been under renovation for about three weeks after the departure of one renter and a few squatters.
While attempting to make the home presentable for the market again, the homeowner noticed something that didn’t seem to belong there: toes from a human foot sticking out of the ground.
“They were all black and stuff. But I guess that was from decomposing,” said a woman who was working on the property with the homeowner, via News4Jax. “I just hope that everything gets solved. My reaction to this is just craziness. I would never expect this, especially at a house that I am working at.”
The homeowner said he immediately called 911. When the police dug into the ground they discovered the body of a young Black man. The police identified him as 23-year-old Sabeion Dowell, who went missing weeks ago.
Dowell’s disappearance was reported by his sisters in February, according to CBS 47. The sisters told the police they hadn’t heard from him in days, which they said was unusual behavior for their brother. The report says he was never diagnosed with a mental illness, though he’d been apprehended under the Florida Baker Act (a law authorizing a person to be sent to a mental health center for signs of suicidal tendencies).
Results from the autopsy are still pending from the Medical Examiner’s Office. It remains unclear how Dowell ended up buried in the backyard of someone else’s home.