Man found dead on missing boat in Kings Bay apparent suicide of man wanted by FBI

Crystal River, Florida - Deputies with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), were called to Pete's Pier in Kings Bay of the Crystal River at 10:20 am, Tuesday, Jan. 26, with the report of a boat missing from the pier, and the rope tying the boat to the pier cut.

After a search, deputies located the missing boat in King's Bay. Inside the boat, deputies found the body of a man, 42 year-old Jesse J. Huffman of Woodhull, Ilinois.

According to Jodi Sanders, Community Relations Specialist with the CCSO, Mr. Huffman was listed in the law enforcement database as a white male, 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing approximately 280 lbs., wanted by the FBI on drug related charges. "At this time, the death is being investigated as a suicide," she said, "But no official cause and manner has been declared by the ME (Florida's District 5 Medical Examiner's Office)."

According to an article in the Citrus County Chronicle newspaper, the deceased man had docked his boat, an early 1990's Sea Ray 27-foot vessel with a cabin, at Pete's Pier on Saturday, Jan. 24, to fix an engine problem, and on Tuesday morning, the boat was found sinking, but no captain was located on board.

Link to Mr. Huffman's obituary at Hurd-Hendricks Funeral Home in Oneida, Illinois:
www.hurd-hendricksfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Jesse-Huffman/.