Body Found In Tanglewood Woods

The search for a missing 41-year-old Sebring man ended Tuesday, for all intents and purposes, when deputies searched a wooded area near the Tanglewood home of his parents and discovered a man's body.

Investigators said Tuesday they think the body to be that of Michael Bergeron, who has been missing since the end of May, but was reported missing by his parents on July 23.

Evidence at the death investigation scene indicated the body is that of Bergeron, but further analysis is being conducted to positively identify the remains, according to a sheriff's office press release.

"It is apparent the decedent was deceased for an extended period of time," the news release stated.

Investigators will compare the remains with Bergeron's dental records, a sheriff's detective said.

The body was found in the woods 150 to 200 feet on the north side of the main entrance road of the Tanglewood subdivision, about 800 feet west from the U.S. 27 frontage road.

Authorities said there was no apparent evidence of foul play.

The last time Bergeron's parents saw their son alive was Wednesday, May 28, when he went out the back door of their manufactured home and reportedly told them, "I will see you later, and I am out of here."

His car remained in their driveway, but his parents thought nothing of it because Bergeron was bipolar. They told investigators they were concerned he did not have his medication with him.

A sheriff's news release stated his parents indicated he was under the care of a counselor before he went missing.

Bergeron's parents told investigators they left several messages on Bergeron's cell phone and had not received any response.

Deputies with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office were doing an air and ground grid search of the area, looking for any evidence. At about 10:34 a.m., the search team located the body in the wooded area.

The case is still under investigation.