Body found in woods identified as missing firefighter Jerry Perdomo after man, 24, charged with 'drug-related' murder
- Jerry Perdomo drove from Florida to Maine 'to visit friends' and was reported missing by his wife on February 16
- Daniel Porter, 24, charged with murder
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A body found in woods today has been identified as firefighter Jerry Perdomo from Florida who went missing on a trip to Maine.
The identification was made this afternoon by Dr Margaret Greenwald, Maine's Chief Medical Examiner. The autopsy on Mr Perdomo's body will not begin until at least Friday.
The development came after police charged Daniel Porter yesterday with the murder of Mr Perdomo, 31, from Orange City, Florida, who had been missing since February 16.
Maine State Police believe that Mr Perdomo, a married father-of-two, was the victim of a drug-related murder.
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Body found: Jerry Perdomo, 31, (pictured left) of Orange City, Florida, was last seen at a rural home in Jackson, Maine, on February 16. Daniel Porter (right) was charged with the murder yesterday
The body was found in the wooded area of Newburgh, Maine earlier today after extensive searches for the missing man by authorities, his family and colleagues in the fire department.
Mr Perdomo was found at 9.30 am by a Maine game warden and his dog about a half-mile from the Monroe town line.
A team of 35 searchers began looking in that area at 8 am. The body had been concealed and police were now awaiting the findings of the medical examiner.
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ShareThe land where the body was found is believed to be owned by relatives of Daniel Porter.
Mr Perdomo, who served in the military, went missing after he drove 1,500 miles from Florida to Maine and was believed to be visiting friends.
A woman calling herself 'Lisa Gould' last week told a local TV station that the fireman had been staying with her up until the night of his disappearance.
She claimed Mr Perdomo had been traveling to Maine from Florida to visit her every month for ten months.
The exact connection between Mr Perdomo, the accused Daniel Porter and Porter’s girlfriend Cheyanne Nowak is unknown. The pair were tracked down in Connecticut last week and interviewed by police before returning to Maine.
Distraught: Jerry Perdomo's wife Tonya was pleading for his safe return in Florida earlier this week
Family man: Mr Perdomo with his wife and daughter on a day trip. He was a former Marine and Iraq veteran
The claims of a girlfriend complicate matters as Mr Perdomo was reported missing by his wife Tonya, a Deltona High School teacher.
She said her husband was 'a dedicated dad. He helps people out a lot'.
'He was always doing something for somebody,' Mrs Perdomo said, adding: 'He had friends from all over so it wouldn't be unusual for him to go out of town.'
Authorities had drilled through ice and snow and dived underwater in wet suits near the Porter family home in Maine during the search for a body.
Three vehicles were examined including Mr Perdomo's rental car which was found abandoned in a Wal-Mart car park in Bangor.
Search: Jerry Perdomo Sr, right, was searching for his son in Maine, assisted by daughter Skye Ramos, left
Porter was arrested at a home in Jackson, Maine rented by his father. During the investigation, neighbours said that the accused and his family were known for throwing wild parties. Don Leino, who lives next door, told BangorDailyNews that the Porters are 'related to half of Waldo County'.
'They just work all week and get crazy as hell on the weekends,’ Mr Leino said. ‘They party pretty hard, I think. But it’s a nice place to live. These guys have never caused anybody on this road any trouble.'
'Danny lived there (at his father's home) but he’s with his girlfriend most of the time, he comes and goes,' neighbour Joan Leino told WOFL.
Happier times: Jerry Perdomo with his wife Tonya enjoying a day out. His body was found in woods this afternoon in Maine - 1500 miles from his home in Florida
Mystery: Mr Perdomo Sr tacks a missing person poster on a telephone pole outside the Bangor Fire Department's central station in Maine. His son's body was identified this afternoon
Some of Mr Perdomo's firefighter colleagues in Seminole County, Florida travelled to Maine to help authorities in their search.
‘We applaud them for their resources, their efforts and everything that they’re doing,’ a fire spokesman told TV station WOFL.
'We are moving forward and are going to continue placing missing person posters up in areas where he might have been. '
Even after the arrest of Porter, Mr Perdomo’s friends and family were left with many questions.
'Never in a million years would I think I'd be hanging up missing posters of my brother,' his sister Skye Ramos told ABC News. 'How can you sleep?'
Porter will make his first court appearance in Waldo County Superior Court tomorrow. He is being held at the Waldo County Jail.
Probe: Police have arrested Daniel Porter, right, for murder. He will make a court appearance on Thursday. It is believed he was the last person to see Mr Perdomo in Maine, along with girlfriend Cheyanne Nowak, left
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