WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Two people are dead after an incident in Winter Haven, and police are asking the public for help locating a man they say may have information.
Police said they received a call around 3:20 p.m. on Wednesday asking for a welfare check at the Rose Hotel, 815 Sixth Street NW.
Police got a phone call from the mother of Timothy Anderson, 40. She told police he typically calls her every day and could not be reached.
“This lady who looked forward obviously to having conversations with her son on a daily basis, which is what made her suspicious whenever he didn’t make that phone call,” said Winter Haven Police Chief Charlie Bird.
Police later went to the Rose Motel and found Anderson and Leslee Umpleby, 49, dead with "significant trauma injuries."
“Very evil, with what happened and we need to get this person off the street,” Bird said.
A witness told police they saw someone wearing a hoodie go toward the room sometime after 11 p.m. on Tuesday night. The witness said they heard a commotion but went back to their room because they didn't know what it was.
On Friday morning, police said they were trying to locate Beloni Petitfrere, 38, to speak to him about the deaths. Investigators believe he may have information.
“Highway 17 is a very busy corridor, that around that time if someone was driving, walking, whatever the case may be, they saw something, someone in a hoodie, whatever the case may be, to also contact us,” said Bird.
If anyone has any information on the incident, call Detective Esteve at 863-287-8210 or the Supervisor on Duty at 863-401-2256.
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