How did Tracey Lynn Rieker die? Missing Venice mom's body found in submerged car as cops suspect traffic homicide
SARASOTA, FLORIDA: The body of Tracey Lynn Rieker, a mother who went missing in Florida last month, was found on Saturday, October 10, after police divers located a submerged car in a pond, investigators said.
The deceased female believed to be Rieker was found 10 days after she was reported missing, inside a green Nissan Xterra in a pond located in the Toscana Isles subdivision in Venice, the Venice Police Department said. "At approximately 11:45 a.m. today, Saturday, Oct. 10, divers with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and North Port PD, assisted by the FWC, Venice PD and Sarasota K9 Search and Rescue, located a green Nissan Xterra in a large pond in the Toscana Isles subdivision in Venice, close to Knights Trail," the statement reads.
44-year-old Reiker went missing in the early hours of September 30 in Venice. She also left behind her wallet and phone. Her husband Christian said that his wife was "having trouble sleeping and wasn’t eating a whole lot" before her disappearance. According to a Fox 13 report, Christian said his wife had been focused on religion and talking to others about God, especially amid the pandemic. "She was so concerned about Covid [that] she wouldn’t go anywhere, but the importance of her message has kind of freed her of that fear, I think. I really think she was just going to talk about God. I don’t know if she meant it to be an extended leave," he said.
Venice police say she has been visiting area beaches to talk with people about God. They say she visited Lido Beach and Bradenton Beach on September 28. She is also known to visit the North Port area.
Following the discovery of a body Tracey's family said in a statement: 'Our family is grateful for the outpouring of support and donations of both time and resources in the search for Tracey. "The outcome of the investigation is shocking and devastating, and we wish this could have been investigated sooner to bring needed closure for the family. At this time, we are grieving as an extended and cohesive family unit, and request privacy while we work through this," the statement reads.
A statement from the police department conveys that they are treating the case as a traffic homicide, "Authorities are in the process of recovering the vehicle at this time. The case is being investigated as a traffic crash that involved death of an involved party. An investigation continues to determine Rieker’s cause of death."