MARION COUNTY, Fla. – One family is trying to stay positive after a sad development was revealed Thursday in a Putnam County missing persons case.
The body of a man was found in Marion County, and police said Floyd Parrish, 46, better known as Andy, has been missing since Friday. Investigators said they believe his body was the one found in the wooded area of Marion County.
Parrish's family said they were relieved to have some closure in this case. They said the 46-year-old had allowed someone to stay at his home while he was out of town.
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The family told News4Jax that Andy Parrish was always helping people out. But in this case, Parrish's family said he came home after going out of town and found the person he allowed to stay at his home was stealing guns from his gun collection.
Police now have 52-year-old Richard Gertler in custody. He is charged with armed burglary and grand theft auto for stealing Parrish's car.
Police said that while Gertler has not been charged with murder, he is a person of interest. Gertler told investigators that he paid Parrish $12,000 for some of Parrish's guns.
Parrish's relatives said they are devout Christians. In fact, his brother, Charles Parrish, is a pastor. The family said they are just relieved police found who they think is responsible for Andy Parrish's death.
"As a Christian, you don't look at death the same way as those that aren't Christian," Charles Parrish said. "On one hand, I'm very glad my parents weren't alive to go through all of this, but at same time, what a joyful reunion they had in heaven Friday night."
"We are so thrilled at what God has done in this," Barbara Sullivan said. "It's a tragedy and we were not ready to give Andy up, especially not in this kind of situation. But our family has been praying for resolution and God to show law enforcement people what happened, and we've been praying for closure. And even though (the) fact of finding his body today is sad, this is something we've prayed for and some families never have this."
Investigators said they found Parrish's SUV in the Whitehouse area of Jacksonville. Police are using that information and other evidence to piece together what happened.