Lake County detectives are seeking the public's help in finding a man they're calling a person of interest in the slaying of an 84-year-old Leesburg woman.
- Bernadine Montgomery, 84, last seen June 15
- Police: Montgomery may have been scammed before disappearing
- Detectives want to talk to David Adam Mariotti
Police want to talk to David Adam Mariotti, who has several warrants issued in Lake for his arrest, in connection with the homicide case of Bernadine Montgomery.
"We have been looking for him, and it's possible because he has these active warrants that he is hard to locate, so that's why we are asking for the public's assistance in locating him," Leesburg Police spokesman Joe Iozzi said.
Detectives say Montgomery had recently befriended several people who were much younger than her and may have been scammed out of thousands of dollars. They don't know whether Mariotti was a part of that group, but police think he had some sort of connection to her.
"We did have possible locations as to where she might be. Those searches to this point have been unsuccessful," Iozzi said.
Meanwhile, crime scene investigators have taped off her home and searched for evidence when she was first reported missing by her neighbor, who called 911 on June 22, worried for her friend who she hadn't seen for more than a week.
Her blue Chevrolet was also missing but was later found abandoned at a nearby park. Police later arrested Jeremy David Gentry for grand theft after he allegedly drove her car. Those charges have been dropped by the State Attorney's Office because of a lack of evidence.
If you have any information about this case, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.