Human remains found in Punta Gorda
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office was called to the Pirate Harbor area of Punta Gorda last Friday when both human remains and the wallet of a Spring Hill Florida man who was reported missing in May 2008 were located in a wooded lot.
On Friday, Jan. 10, the new owners of a residence in the 24000 block of Jolly Roger Blvd. were having the lot beside their residence cleared of underbrush. The people clearing the lot located a wallet in the brush at about 4 p.m. The new owner checked further into the lot and found what appeared to be human remains and a rope hanging from a tree. He backed out of the lot and called the Sheriff’s Office.
Major Crimes detectives and Crime Scene Technicians responded to the area to retrieve the skeletal remains and any evidence remaining in the area. The remains were turned over to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The wallet found contained identification belonging to Danny Paul Mordenti, who was 23 years old when he was reported missing on May 23, 2008. He was last seen on May 22, 2008, at about 6 p.m. at the Jolly Roger Blvd. residence of his 86-year old grandmother. His grandmother told deputies that Mordenti had not wanted to eat his evening meal that day and, when she looked for him afterward, he was not in his room.
Mordenti, who listed his address as 10065 Orchard Way in Spring Hill, Florida, had been arrested on May 20, 2008, on charges of Loitering and Prowling. He was released from jail on May 21 and was supposed to have met with a probation officer a few days later.
While looking for Mordenti, Sheriff’s Office K9 deputies followed a track that lead them from the house on Jolly Roger Boulevard to the Burnt Store Road intersection. An aerial search of the area was also done with negative results. Mordenti was entered into the state and national computer system as a missing endangered adult.
During the intervening years, detectives have maintained contact with Mordenti’s relatives. When unidentified remains have been located, detectives have requested comparison of those remains against Mordenti’s records with no previous success.
Positive identification of the skeletal remains is pending the results of the Medical Examiner’s Office investigation.
Source: Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office