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Woman's body found near Pasco truck stop

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published April 2, 2006

The black, middle-aged woman has not been identified, and her the cause of death had not been determined Sunday, Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll said.

SAN ANTONIO - Kevin Okon awoke in his semitrailer truck cab early Sunday to walk Blackjack, his canine companion on the road.

As they walked along the lot next to the Flying J truck stop at State Road 52 and Interstate 75, Blackjack, a Catahoula and Australian shepherd mix, hunkered down and stuck out her nose.

A moment later, Okon was standing over a woman's body.

"I probably wouldn't even have seen it except for (the dog)," Okon said. "It shocked me."

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office is calling the case a suspicious death.

The black, middle-aged woman has not been identified, and the cause of death had not been determined Sunday, Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll said.

The Flying J is a high-traffic spot, with a restaurant, gas station and about 65 big rigs passing through at any given time.

George Spickler said he had just parked his truck along the curb near the grass and was sipping coffee when Okon knocked on his door just after 6 a.m.

"He told me I'd have to stay here. I said "for what?' He said because there's a dead body lying in the grass," said Spickler, who planned to drive home Sunday to Pensacola.

Sheriff's Office forensics investigators examined the body and the ground around it throughout the morning.

About 10:30 a.m., they set up a tent over where the partly clothed body lay.

Just after noon, they wrapped the body in a sheet and loaded it into a van. Doll said autopsy results could come as soon as today.

[Last modified April 2, 2006, 23:25:03]