Boater in Port Orange finds woman's body in Halifax River

A slow, quiet summer morning took an unexpected turn for Dieter Heineken, who was eating breakfast in the galley of boat which was anchored at the Seven Seas Marina in Port Orange.   He said he heard a voice and came up to see who it was.

“At this moment, I hear the voice of an officer and so, I came outside.  I was asking what happened, and they said there’s a  body in the water.  I looked and that’s what I saw,” said Heineken.  

Not much surprises the retired rescue diver, so the discovery didn’t scare him.  Instead, he said he is curious, because there were no obvious signs of trauma.

“No injury, no blood, nothing, just a drifting body,” said Heineken.  

Port Orange Police say a boater initially spotted the body after the sunrise and called 911.  Police Chief Gerald Monahan wonders if the middle-aged white female found floating in the Halifax River is connected to a disturbance call which South Daytona Police are investigating.  

“Just that there was a disturbance up in the area of the South Daytona ramp last night, some time around midnight, maybe even a little bit before that, and I know there were units out looking for reports of someone jumping off of a boat and things of that nature,” said Chief Monahan.  

Chief Monahan said the people connected to the disturbance were interviewed Wednesday.  Right now, investigators are working to identify the woman found in the water this morning.  

Chief Monahan said the Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy on Thursday.  For now, he is hesitant to reveal details about the initial call that may have started all of this.  

“Just an argument and that’s all we know at this point. We don’t know of any violence per say that occurred,” he added.