Lake Co. detectives look for man who was with woman found in woods

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Lake County sheriff's detectives want to find the man they said was with a woman before she was found dead last week near Clermont.

Detectives said the man met up with 28-year old Cheri Houston at an Orange County Walmart two days before her body was found.

Detectives insist the man they're looking for is not a suspect and they are still referring to the case as a suspicious death.

Houston’s body was found on April 4 in a wooded area near Hancock and Hartwood Marsh roads.

“He is not a suspect. He is not a person if interest. We’re not labeling him as anything at this point. He’s someone we know she was with two days prior to her body being found, and that’s why detectives want to talk to him,” said Lt. John Herrell with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said the pair met at a Walmart along State Road 50 in Ocoee.

The store’s security cameras caught the man on tape and detectives said he and Houston left together in a late 90’s, black Ford Explorer.

“She was there from about two o’clock on and hung out there that afternoon on April 2. She indicated to witnesses that she was waiting for a ride,” Herrell said.

Two days later, a woman out for her morning walk found Houston’s body inside the border of a pine forest, no more than 150-yards from the busy intersection.

Distinctive tattoos helped detectives identify Houston, but her officials cause of death has not been released.

The Sheriff’s Office said they’re still waiting on the medical examiner to tell them how Houston died.

Toxicology tests are now underway.

WFTV