Human remains found in suitcases in remote Florida area; 19-year-old arrested

Human remains were found in two suitcases dumped in a remote area of Palm Bay, Florida, and a 19-year-old man has been arrested, according to police. Authorities have not identified the victim, but said the suspect was associated with a missing person from nearby Indialantic.

The remains were discovered at about 10:50 a.m. on Saturday in an undeveloped area off Bombardier Boulevard in Palm Bay, a city on Florida’s east coast southeast of Orlando. Officers responding to a report of a suitcase found a black case lying in tall grass with an odor coming from it.

The suitcase was partially open and human remains could be seen inside, according to police. A second suitcase containing additional remains was found a short distance away.

Police also found personal belongings and an Amazon package addressed to Lucas Jones, 19. Authorities later determined the remains had been left there on March 21.

Police said Jones was associated with Colie Lee Daniels, a missing person from Indialantic, a small beachside town about 19 miles north of Palm Bay. Authorities have not confirmed the remains are Daniels and said they are waiting for autopsy results and a positive identification from the medical examiner.

According to the arrest affidavit, Jones’ girlfriend told investigators she saw Daniels lying unconscious on Jones’ bed. She said that after she left the room to use the bathroom, she came back and the body was gone, and Jones later told her Daniels had left through the back door.

The girlfriend told police that on March 21, Jones asked her to drive him to the remote area, where he removed two gray containers from her vehicle and left them in separate locations, according to the affidavit. She said she did not know what was inside.

A FLOCK license plate reader recorded the girlfriend’s vehicle entering the area twice that day, at 11:10 a.m. and 1:03 p.m., according to the affidavit.

When investigators searched Jones’ home in Indialantic, they found blood stains in several places, police said. Officers also said a kitchen knife recovered from one of the suitcases matched a knife found inside the home.

Jones was arrested on March 28 and charged with tampering with evidence, abuse of a dead human body and transporting a dead human body in an unauthorized container.