Boater's death appears to be caused by lightning, authorities say

Authorities believe a boater in Florida, found unresponsive early Wednesday evening, was struck and killed by a bolt of lightning.

The body of 44-year-old Jeffrey Jason Moyer was discovered in a pontoon boat at a home on Long Island Drive, in Umatilla.  A neighbor told investigators that at around 6 p.m., he went outside to fish off his dock on Lake Owen and noticed Moyer slumped over in his boat.  Another neighbor went to check on Moyer and found he was not breathing and called 911.

One of the neighbors said he had seen Moyer fishing right before a storm rolled into the area. The Lake County Sheriff's Office says Moyer had a shallow square shaped cut on his back and noted there was fishing equipment both in the boat and on the dock. Investigators say the chair Moyer was sitting in had some noticeable black marks that may have been the result of a burn, and that the floor of the boat appeared discolored. 

An autopsy performed by the Lake County Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death to be from electrocution.  

Neighbors say Moyer lives in Nevada, but he was renting the Umatilla house on a short term lease, so he could fish.  Moyer was seen fishing on the lake every day, even when the weather was bad, one neighbor says.