Deputies: Skeletal remains found in Apopka those of man missing since 2017

APOPKA, Fla. — Skeletal remains discovered in September in a wooded area in Apopka are those of a man who had been missing since 2017, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

Deputies said Lechmani Desroches, 23, was reported missing June 26, 2017.

Investigators said skeletal remains were discovered near Marden and West Keene roads Sept. 26, 2018.

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"The medical examiner has identified those remains as (those of) Lechmani Desroches and determined the manner of death to be homicide by undetermined means," the Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Deputies said a tip led them to the remains.

Marie Anne Desroches, the victim's sister, told Channel 9 on Monday that her brother was a Dr. Phillips High School alumnus who loved to play football.

"He was just a chill person," she said.

Desroches said she was in the hospital delivering her daughter last week when she learned that her brother's remains had been identified through a DNA test.

"It's still an open case," she said. "It's not over, (because) you don't know what happened. You don't know how he died, so you are still waiting."

Desroches said a candlelight vigil will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Lake Mann Homes housing project to honor her brother.

The death remains under investigation.

No other details were given.

Cox Media Group