PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — The family of missing Palatka man Chad Mullen confirmed with Action News Jax that investigators have found his body, though Putnam County deputies have yet to officially identify the remains.
Authorities say they located the body while investigating a tip linked to Mullen’s disappearance.
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The sheriff’s office said the tip they got on Monday led them to a property on Federal Point Road in Hastings.
Neighbors tell Action News Jax Annette Gutierrez they are surprised to hear about something like this happening so close to home. They said it’s usually a pretty quiet neighborhood.
“It’s just a shocker,” neighbor Benjamin Walker said. “Just to know that they found somebody buried less than a mile from my house is kind of scary.”
Walker has lived in Hastings for nearly 50 years. And he says the news has him on edge.
“That’s real eerie – especially having daughters myself,” Walker said.
READ: Body found in St. Johns in relation to a tip in the case of a missing Putnam County man
Putnam detectives said they found a lot of loose dirt on the property on Monday. After sifting through the dirt carefully, investigators uncovered a body.
Mullen’s family told Action News Jax late Tuesday, the body is Mullen’s.
More than a month ago, when he vanished, his daughter, Holli Mullen, told us it wasn’t like him to disappear.
“His birthday was this Sunday the 22nd and we were supposed to go out for his brother’s wedding in El Paso,” Holli had said. “He wouldn’t disappear, at least not right now. He wouldn’t do that and not call me.”
Holli Mullen said she was the last person to talk to him on September 9th.
Detectives told Action News Jax his phone was last pinged on September 10th near Stormy Stables – a horse rental shop in San Mateo.
The sheriff’s office said he ran the business with Caylen Deller.
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She was arrested on a warrant for grand theft charges unrelated to this case.
With no clues on where he was, the family offered thousands of dollars to solve this case.
“Everybody just wants closure and answers,” Holli had said. “We are waiting for justice.”
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is leading this investigation since it’s related to their missing person of Mullen.
Action News Jax is still waiting to learn more about how he died.
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