Found Deceased NY - Samuel Ortiz, 39, Rochester, 6 July 2019 (car found in Brandon FL on fire)

[Cagle]

A car belonging to a missing Rochester, New York, man was found on fire in Brandon Tuesday.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Samuel Ortiz, 39, has been missing from Rochester since 11 p.m. July 6. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a T-shirt and a gold Jesus necklace. He is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weigh 170 pounds.

At 12:21 a.m. Tuesday, his blue Chevrolet Equinox was discovered engulfed in flames at 809 Russell Lane in Brandon.

Anyone with information about Ortiz' whereabouts is asked to contact the sheriff's office at 813-247-8200.

Missing New York Man's Car Found On Fire In Brandon

 

[TatianaBarbie]

It was three days after Samuel was last seen that his car was found engulfed in flames. It was also found in Brandon, Florida, so I'm alerting a mod to change the thread title. Here is a quote from the first line in the linked article from Post #1:

"BRANDON, FL — A car belonging to a missing Rochester, New York, man was found on fire in Brandon Tuesday." BBM


Google Maps

 

[TatianaBarbie]

This does not sound good at all:

Florida police find missing Rochester man's SUV on fire

Ortiz, 39, was last seen in Rochester on July 6 around 11 p.m. at Cam's Pizza on East Avenue. The discovery of his car came three days and over a thousand miles from where he lives and is raising his nine year old daughter.

Deputies in Florida say the license plate had been removed and the glove compartment was destroyed.

"The fire, we know, started from the inside of the car. We noticed that the passenger compartment was destroyed on purpose, and we believe they used some type of accelerant to light up the car," said Diaz-Sanchez. She added there was no sign of a struggle in the car or at the location.

Important notes:

• He lives in Rochester, NY
• He is raising his 9-year-old daughter
• License plate removed.
• Glove compartment destroyed.
• Fire started inside car.
• Believe an accelerant was used.
• One person seen leaving car (see link for the rest of the article)

 

[TatianaBarbie]

Sorry for the power posting - too much info for one post! Other MSM about this incident:

This man is missing out of New York. His Equinox was found on fire in Florida

Deputies: Burned Out Vehicle In Brandon Tied To NY Missing Person's Case

Deputies in Hillsborough County find SUV engulfed in flames belonging to missing New York man

Missing New York man's car found unoccupied and on fire in Brandon

SUV of missing New York man located in Brandon

Missing man's SUV found engulfed in flames in Florida; search ongoing


ETA: From the Rochester NY PD FB page post about Samuel:

Rochester NY Police Department

 

[Cagle]

It was three days after Samuel was last seen that his car was found engulfed in flames. It was also found in Brandon, Florida, so I'm alerting a mod to change the thread title. Here is a quote from the first line in the linked article from Post #1:

"BRANDON, FL — A car belonging to a missing Rochester, New York, man was found on fire in Brandon Tuesday." BBM

View attachment 192979
Google Maps

Thanks - I couldn't tell by the article whether he may have been in FL for vacation, visiting relatives, etc or if the FL location was completely out of whack from where he was last seen. It never said exactly where/when he was last seen, so I went with Brandon.

 

[Shin Masamura]

Total insanity, I grew up in Rochester and live now near Brandon, Im sure some cams had to of picked whoever was driving coastal with that vehicle. didn't see any news about this on tv.

*Edit, look at his facebook.. maybe him spreading awarness got him in trouble with the wrong crowd.. His friend was killed on a road i lived on 20 years ago.
Samuel Ortiz

 

[cvaldez1975]

I'm not sure it was the glove compartment. the deputy said passenger compartment which could be the whole interior of the vehicle.

 

[TatianaBarbie]

I'm not sure it was the glove compartment. the deputy said passenger compartment which could be the whole interior of the vehicle.

The news article I quoted (Florida police find missing Rochester man's SUV on fire, Post #3) said "glove compartment," while this article:

Deputies in Hillsborough County find SUV engulfed in flames belonging to missing New York man

. . .the passenger's compartment was completely destroyed. . .

I don't know which is more correct!

 

[Cagle]

The Rochester Police Department has confirmed a body found Saturday is that of missing man Samuel Ortiz.

Body Found Confirmed As Missing Man Samuel Ortiz

 

[Cagle]

Just an added tidbit to identify a location where Mr. Ortiz was found:

A body found late Saturday afternoon in the detached garage of a vacant home at 63 Lakeview Park in Rochester is that of missing city man Samuel Ortiz, the Rochester Police Department reports.

Body found in garage identified as missing Rochester man Samuel Ortiz

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

So someone murdered him in Rochester, NY and then drove his car all the way to Florida to set it on fire?

 

[Steph8angels]

Very sad news!!! Prayers for his daughter and loved ones.

So his body was located in Rochester and his last known movements of his life were on July 6th in Rochester.

Then his SUV was located in Florida. Abandoned and set on fire.
This case should be solved soon in MOO.
Tragic
Waiting on COD

 

[Cagle]

So someone murdered him in Rochester, NY and then drove his car all the way to Florida to set it on fire?

I'm sure they figured it would be harder to identify and figure out the perpetrator. After reading the info on the Dan Markel murder locally where the perpetrators drove from Miami to Tallahassee, there are ways to track & identify even those who drive long distances. Cameras from business & the sides of buses, toll booths, rental car info, etc. Hopefully they can put this one together and provide some justice.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

I'm sure they figured it would be harder to identify and figure out the perpetrator. After reading the info on the Dan Markel murder locally where the perpetrators drove from Miami to Tallahassee, there are ways to track & identify even those who drive long distances. Cameras from business & the sides of buses, toll booths, rental car info, etc. Hopefully they can put this one together and provide some justice.

I would honestly say that driving such a long distance (and lets be honest, someone heading from NY to FL is probably taking I95 South the majority of the way) would increase the chances of being caught by a camera at a toll booth or on the interstate, as well as any type of cameras attached to vehicles or license plate readers set up along the way.

 

[Dre]

Perp would have been better off leaving the suv in the garage of the abandoned house... thank goodness for bad decisions or lots of these terrible folks wouldn’t get caught! Fingers crossed it unravels quickly and smoothly for LE and for the sake of his family!

 

[Luckyzmom]

Bless you Samuel, what a stand up friend you were ! Prayers for family and friends.So very sorry for his passing.

 

[Shin Masamura]

FYI, I went to Virgil I Grissim school nearby where the body was found, took my kids on a tour earlier this year when were up there. Rough area, not the worst, but pretty bad. Hope this is solved soon before the focus is taken off this. Im not sure if it is still the case but Rochester was always #2 in murder behind NYC ofcourse in NY. I have some friends in Rochester Police that I have talked to since visisting, I'll see if there is anything relevant to add.. or message they want to get out..

 

[GraceG]

So sorry for his family.

 

[TatianaBarbie]

RIP Samuel. I'm so glad LE found him, and hopefully the criminal(s) will be held accountable for their crime.

 

[iulia]

Person in surveillance video wanted for questioning in missing man's SUV fire in Florida

Brandon, FL (WHAM) - Detectives in Florida are releasing new surveillance video, hoping the public can help them identify a man who was spotted near an SUV fire linked to the disappearance of a Rochester man.