WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Police are searching for the family of a man identified 19 years after his body was found in Winter Haven.
Police say the body of 39-year-old Melville Talley Townsend was found in an abandoned home on July 24, 1990.
His identity had remained a mystery until now. A detective was entering fingerprints from cold case files into a national database when he got a match.
Police want to find Townsend's family to inform them of his death. It was not clear if Townsend was ever listed as a missing person.
Police say Townsend was born in Georgia, and at times lived as a transient throughout the central Florida area. Police also say he may have suffered from mental illness.
Police do not suspect foul play was involved in Townsend's death.
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