Tampa Bay briefs

By Times staff and wire reports

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 23, 2001

Man's body found in north Tampa pond

TAMPA -- The body of a young man missing since a party Friday night was found Sunday afternoon floating in a retention pond in a north Tampa subdivision.

Wesley James Halsey, 20, went to a party in the Northpoint subdivision between Fletcher and Bearss avenues late Friday. At some point, witnesses said, the young man went outside to smoke a cigarette and wasn't seen again. On Sunday afternoon, members of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office dive team retrieved Halsey's body from a retention pond near the party.

Investigators said no foul play is suspected in his death. Halsey may have been drinking Friday night, and his death was most likely accidental, they said. However, an investigation will determine the exact cause of death.

Indiana man arrested on fraud charge

MARION, Ind. -- A former Marion minister has been accused of using fake identities to steal more than $1-million from the Florida Department of Banking and Finance, a state agency responsible for handling unclaimed estates.

Kevin Lee McDonald, 41, the former pastor of Temple Congregational Church in Marion, was being held without bail Sunday in the Allen County Jail in Fort Wayne pending transfer to Florida.

A federal complaint charged him with money laundering and fraud.

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