Florida Highway Patrol troopers are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a man’s body near a construction site adjacent to Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale early Tuesday morning, January 27, 2026.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), a construction worker discovered the body of a 24-year-old man around 8 a.m. near the Marina Mile Yacht Center, located beside the southbound express lanes of I-95. Authorities said the man was from Pompano Beach and had been reported missing the day before. His identity has not yet been released.
FHP Lt. India Miranda said the man was last seen leaving his workplace around midnight Sunday into Monday. Miranda noted that the agency will not publicly release the man’s name until the investigation is complete.
While Fort Lauderdale police officers were the first to respond to the scene, jurisdiction was ultimately transferred after supervisors determined the site where the body was found did not fall within city limits, according to department spokeswoman Det. Kerri Hagerty.
Investigators later connected the discovery to a series of events involving the man’s vehicle. Location data from the man’s cellphone showed him traveling eastbound on Interstate 595. Miranda said investigators also determined that the man made a 911 call reporting a vehicle crash, though the call was disconnected. The exact time of the call has not been disclosed.
Troopers located the man’s abandoned 2025 Tesla on I-595 sometime Monday. The vehicle appeared to have been involved in a crash, but the man was not inside. According to Miranda, the Tesla’s onboard camera footage showed the vehicle striking construction equipment and another vehicle on I-95 before coming to rest on the shoulder of I-595. The footage did not capture the man falling from the roadway.
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The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the man suffered “significant trauma consistent with a fall from the roadway above,” Miranda said, referring to the elevated section of I-595. Investigators believe the man fell approximately 45 feet from the highway into a marshy area below, then crawled toward the nearby construction site, where his body was later found.
Miranda emphasized that the case remains “an active criminal investigation.” She explained that troopers initially did not associate the abandoned Tesla with the body because the missing persons report was not filed until Tuesday. She also noted that Florida Highway Patrol officers have up to 10 days to complete crash reports.
“Troopers have that time to obtain more information to close the crash appropriately and follow up,” Miranda said.
The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities said additional updates will be released as more information becomes available.
Originally reported by David Goodhue and Devoun Cetoute in Miami Herald.
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