Missing Florida mom found dead in canal; A family friend is charged with murder in the death of Perrin Damron, a missing 23-year-old from Martins County Florida

Damron who has a two-year-old son was reported missing Saturday night after failing to contact her child’s father, who had been caring for the baby since Friday

As investigators searched for her whereabouts, they learned she had been seen with Eric Westergard, a 45-year-old friend of her mother’s

Investigators recovered her body from the Okeechobee Waterway in Indiantown, on Monday morning

County sheriff, William Snyder, said his office was “very suspicious” of Westergard “from the very beginning” because he made multiple incriminating statements and was found with evidence linking him to the crime

Westergard of Jupiter, Florida, was charged with first-degree murder and is being held at a Palm Beach County jail without bond

The body of a young Florida mom who went missing over the weekend was found in a canal Monday, prompting murder charges against a family friend, authorities said.
Perrin Damron, 23, was reported missing Saturday night after failing to contact her child’s father, who had been caring for the baby since Friday, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
As investigators searched for the woman’s whereabouts, they learned she had been seen with Eric Westergard, a 45-year-old friend of her mother’s.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office by noon Sunday was seeking information on the whereabouts of 23-year old Perrin Damron of Stuart, Florida. Damron was last seen Friday evening, 9/3/21 , in the Manatee Creek Community where she lives. S
he was scheduled meet up with a friend on Saturday but did not show up. Her family said that is unlike her. Although her vehicle had been found her whereabouts remained unknown.
Her body was recovered in the Okeechobee Waterway in Indiantown on Monday, hours after that announcement by the sheriff’s office.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office by noon Sunday was seeking information on the whereabouts of 23-year old Perrin Damron of Stuart, Florida. Damron was last seen Friday evening, 9/3/21 , in the Manatee Creek Community where she County Sheriff, William Snyder, said his office was “very suspicious” of Westergard “from the very beginning” because he made multiple incriminating statements and was found with evidence linking him to the crime.
Snyder did not provide details about nature of the killing or evidence in the case, but he revealed that the probe led detectives to the Okeechobee Waterway in Indiantown, where Damron’s body was recovered Monday morning.
“This case obviously did not end the way we wanted it to,” the sheriff said at a news conference.
The cause of death and possible motive in the murder remain under investigation.
Westergard, who lives in Jupiter, was charged with first-degree murder and is being held at a Palm Beach County jail without bond.
Sheriff Snyder lamented the outcome of the investigation, noting that the victim’s 2-year-old child will grow up without a mother.
“I’m always profoundly sad when somebody loses their life in violence,” he told reporters.
“I was thinking about that this morning, and I was thinking about her child,” he said.
“Her mother is gone and the child will never know her mother.”