New York man found in the water, dead

Sheriff’s detectives and the Medical Examiner say there are no obvious signs of foul play in the death of a 68 year old New York man, found in the water at an Islamorada resort early today.

Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Smuggler’s Cove Resort at the 85.5 mile marker of the highway at 3:30 a.m. to do a welfare check on 68 year old Dennis O’Rourke. O’Rourke was in the Keys visiting from Hicksville, New York. The person who called was in New York. He said he is a friend of O’Rourke and said he hadn’t heard from him and was worried about him. The caller said O’Rourke was staying on a house boat he and a friend had rented for a week.

Deputies Nicholas Thaler and Caridad Calloway were walking toward the houseboat when they spotted a body in the water. The body was eventually pulled from the water and identified as O’Rourke. The friend who was staying with him on the boat said he last saw O’Rourke at the resort bar earlier. He said he looked for him, but couldn’t find him so he returned to their rental boat .

O’Rourke’s body was transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office where an autopsy will be done to determine the cause of his death. There were no obvious signs of foul play.