Staff Report
PENSACOLA, FL - A body found on April 15 on Naval Air Station Pensacola has been positively identified as missing boater Bradley Gunther from Gulf Shores.
On April 22, Escambia County authorities said the death was ruled a homicide by medical examiners and charges have been filed against Michael Paul Rodgers, 36, whose last known address was in Milton, Fla.
Rodgers is currently in the Jefferson Parish Jail in Louisiana after being arrested there trying to obtain a driver's license using Gunther's passport. Officials said extradition proceedings have begun to bring Rodgers back to Florida to face the charge.
The cause of death was not released by the sheriff's office and officials are not commenting on what was found on Gunther's abandoned sailboat or if the missing dinghy from the sailboat was recovered.
A search by family members turned up Gunther’s body partially covered in sand on a bank on NAS Pensacola.
On April 21, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office posted the following on its Facebook page:
The medical examiner’s office has identified the body discovered on NAS Pensacola on April 15 afternoon as 62-year-old missing boater James Bradley Gunther. Escambia County Sheriff's Office investigators are actively working leads on a person of interest at this time.
Gunther, 62, was reported missing by his family to Coast Guard Sector Mobile watchstanders, at about 1:40 p.m. on April 5. Gunther was piloting a sailing vessel from Gulf Shores to Port St. Joe, Florida, and had failed to contact his family since Saturday.
According to Jefferson Parish Jail records in Louisiana, Rodgers also rented a hotel room using one of Gunther’s credit cards.
Rodgers refused to talk with detectives about his charges in Louisiana or about incidents in Florida, Public Information Officer Col. John Fortunato of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s office said.
"He claimed he was a silent citizen and didn’t have to abide by the constitutional laws of the United States,” Fortunato said. “Therefore he didn’t answer any questions after that.”
Fortunato said an extradition back to Florida is eventually expected. Escambia officials said if Rodgers waives his right to fight the extradition he could be returned in a few days. If he contests the extradition, the process could take weeks or months.
After the Coast Guard searched more than 1,100 miles of ocean, Gunther's boat was later found at anchor near Fort McRee, Fla., between Perdido Key and Pensacola.
Rodgers is being held under $30,500 bond on charges of identity theft, two counts of resisting arrest and fraud. He has been in the Jefferson Parish Jail since his arrest on April 9.
“He’ll face the charges here and extradition proceedings will follow,” Fortunato said.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Rodgers is a convicted sex offender who served eight years in prison after a 1998 conviction of attempted sexual battery. His most recent address as of December was 6312 Fagen Lane in Milton, Fla.
On Feb. 2, 1997, in Escambia County, Fla., Rodgers was arrested on three charges; burglary, armed robbery and attempted sexual battery with a weapon or by force, according to Florida Department of Corrections records.
He was incarcerated from February of 1998 until October of 2005.
