JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man is dead after bystanders pulled him from a retention pond at a Jacksonville apartment complex Wednesday afternoon, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
JSO responded to a reported drowning at Coquina Bay Apartments off San Pablo Road in the San Pablo neighborhood around 2:15 p.m. The man was found unresponsive in a small pond behind one of the buildings, JSO said.
JSO shared an update on social media confirming bystanders pulled the man from the water and that he died at the scene.
While News4JAX was on scene, JSO expanded their perimeter — blocking off a back corner of the complex as detectives and crime scene units focused on the pond. Neighbors gathered nearby, trying to piece together what had happened.
Matthew Rankin, who has lived at the complex for about a year and a half, had just returned home from a day of landscaping work when he learned of the incident.
“It’s brutal,” Rankin said. “It raises a lot of questions like what happened, but you also just think about that poor person.”
Rankin also described the emotional weight of coming home to the scene. “Curiosity at first, and then you kind of hear about what happens and it breaks your heart,” he said. “You really feel awful for whoever’s family was involved — just terrible.”
Crime scene vans and several detectives were spotted surveying the back corner of the complex. JSO remained on scene for several hours before coroner vans arrived and departed. The scene cleared just after 6 p.m.
What led up to the incident remains under investigation.
News4JAX has requested reports from JSO and will update this story as more information becomes available.
