Deputies from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) assisted in removing a vehicle from a Palm Harbor pond. The pond is located off Belcher Road and Old Oak Circle.
34-year-old Robert Helphrey Helphrey went missing in Palm Harbor on May 21, 2006. He was General Manager at the Thirsty Marlin restaurant and closed the restaurant at about 12:30 a.m.
After work, he met a couple of coworkers across the street at Peggy O’Neills Irish Pub. After about an hour, he left the Pub, driving his Mitsubishi SUV. He never arrived home and was listed as a missing person.
The vehicle was located with the assistance of the Sunshine State Sonar Search Team, a nonprofit based out of St. Petersburg.
On Friday, April 21, 2023, PCSO announced that the Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office had positively identified the human remains as Robert Helphrey.
Several searches of ponds and heavily wooded areas were searched for Helphrey
and his vehicle, but they were never located.
The investigation continues and will now involve the Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is still investigating to determine a cause and manner of death.