VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A fisherman found the body of a missing 23-year-old woman in Dupont Lake in Deltona Saturday morning, deputies said.
Ashley Laufer, 23, of DeBary, was reported missing by her family Friday. Her family told deputies they hadn’t heard from her, which was unusual, and that Laufer had a condition that required medication.
On a day when her family planned to form a search party, sadness and anger found them.
“I was coming up here to help and right when I got here, I found out the body was found and I was pretty upset,” said a friend of the victim, who was not identified.
While deputies were investigating her disappearance, one of Laufer’s friends told deputies the two had gone to the Lowe’s on Howland Boulevard Wednesday night and fled after being caught shoplifting by employees.
The friend told deputies the two ran off in different directions and he hadn’t seen her since.
Lowe’s security confirmed the two were seen shoplifting, but the store didn’t report the incident.
The lake where Laufer’s body was found is less than a quarter-mile from the store.
Friends of Laufer were coming and going from the lake throughout the day Saturday, hoping that being there and seeing where it happened could help them make sense of her death.
“I don’t see why should would just go in a lake, you know what I mean? I don’t understand,” said Laufer’s friend. “She’s not a bad person at all. I don’t see, maybe she was doing something she wasn’t supposed to, but I don’t see how this has anything to do with that.”
Deputies said they do not suspect foul play.
Friends and family of the victim said she was prone to seizure, but they said they find it hard to believe the young woman they loved died alone on the side of a lake with no explanation.
WFTV
