Body found inside truck submerged in Plant City pond during search for missing man: HCSO

Missing father believed to be inside truck in pond

A missing man is believed to be dead after a body was discovered inside a truck in a Plant City retention pond. FOX 13’s Blake DeVine reports. 

PLANT CITY, Fla. - Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said they found a body inside a truck they pulled from a Plant City pond on Tuesday while searching for missing 50-year-old Derek Smith. 

What we know:

Smith's family has been searching for him since Sunday.

On Tuesday, about a dozen relatives surrounded a Plant City retention pond as members of HCSO pulled out a submerged truck.

Deputies said there was a body located inside the truck, but they did not confirm that it was Smith.

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Deputies told FOX 13's Blake DeVine that Smith’s family was tracking him using an Air Tag in his wallet, and that’s what prompted them to search the pond near Cornet Road and Howell Road. 

Steve Williams and his wife Retita, who live near the pond in Plant City, says the search was difficult to watch.

"I really feel bad, it’s heartbreaking," he said. "It hurts your heart to know someone lost their life."

Neighbors say this isn’t the first time a car has crashed into the pond. Which is why Retita Williams believes additional safety measures could prevent future tragedies.

"I think they need to put up guard rails," she said. "Speed bumps would also help."

Deputies added that they got security video from a neighbor across the street that appeared to show the truck speeding into the pond during the early morning hours.

Just before sunset, deputies transported the body to the Hillsborough Medical Examiner’s Office. The medical examiner will determine the identity of the person found inside the truck.