A woman’s body was found floating in a trash bag off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, earlier in December. The tragic discovery is being investigated by the FBI.

FBI agents in the Tampa Field Office identified the body as that of Heather Rose Strickland, 34. Fisherman found her remains near Egmont Key shores, which is approximately 13 miles from the coast of Pinellas County, Florida. 

The body was found on December 10, and the fisherman alerted the US Coast Guard. The corpse was wrapped in bedding and stuffed inside a plastic garbage bag. 

Strickland was last seen alive leaving the HCA Florida Largo Hospital on December 5, about 30 miles from where her body was found. The FBI has classified her death as suspicious.

Speaking to reporters, John Strickland, the victim’s father, said that she had been battling drug abuse and mental health issues.

Heather Strickland was originally from North Florida, and had spent the last five years in Clearwater-St. Petersburg. Her father and his wife, Sherrie Strickland, Heather’s stepmother, told reporters that they were trying to get Heather to return to her hometown and wanted to get her treatment.

The stepmother said she had last spoken to Heather several weeks before, and she was aware that Heather had checked into a psychiatric hospital, but she urged her to come to Lake City, where her father and stepmother live.

Strickland’s parents told the media that the young woman was a mother to five children, all of whom she adopted.

The FBI is appealing to the public for clues that will help them piece together what happened to Heather Strickland. The toxicology report is pending.