Residents shocked after woman’s body found at Picnic Island Park

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Tampa police are investigating the body of a woman found at a bay area park.

Picnic Island Park in South Tampa is many things to many people.

“I usually read here and I meditate. This is a great place to relax and learn,” said Sensei Mike Sanchez.

“I bring my dog here,” said Samantha Coley.

The park with a frisbee golf course, dog park, pier and picnic areas is a popular place when the weather is nice, but Saturday afternoon those coming to enjoy their time outside were turned away.

“Yeah, we came over late yesterday afternoon and there were cones out front and two police cars that were basically blocking people from coming in,” said Keith Gandy, who often visits the park with his dog.

Detectives are not sharing a lot of information about who the woman was or the cause of death.

“If that body washed up here, there’s a sign that something’s not right here. What it is, is that there’s evil, and I’m against evil,” Sanchez said.

The park is back open, but people are still talking about the body.

“Yeah, I’ve been here many times and I’ve never heard of anything like that. That’s crazy,” Coley said.

Rumors are swirling and people want to know what happened.

“I said ‘What happened,’ and she told me a dead body washed up on the beach. It’s sad to say because the other day I saw a crow that wouldn’t leave my car alone like I told you, and that’s a sign something bad was going to happen,” Sanchez said.

The biggest shock for these folks is that such an awful discovery happened in such a beautiful place.

“You don’t see anyone getting out of control down here or anything ever,” Gandy said.

8 On Your Side reached out to TPD. We are waiting to get an update from detectives.

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