Reward offered in the 2007 drowning death of Joshua Whittier

Aug. 4, 2010 - PRLog -- SANTA ROSA COUNTY, FLORIDA — A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the February 2007 death of 21 year-old Joshua Whittier.

News of an anonymous reward gave new hope to Joshua’s mother, Melody Schmidt, who has moved away from Florida to Colorado. Schmidt said "We hope and pray that this generous reward will help give someone the courage to come forward.”

The weeks before Josh’s death were a busy and exciting period in the popular young man’s life.  He had just signed with Ford Models of Miami, started a new job in Gulfport, Mississippi and travelled home to Navarre, FL on the weekends.

On Feb. 18, 2007, Josh’s body was found face down in the sand at the water’s edge of Santa Rosa Sound between Juana’s Pagoda and the Navarre Beach Bridge located on the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida panhandle. A pack of cigarettes and a bottle of Corona beer were close by. Josh’s wallet was found empty a bit farther up the beach but his state identification was located in a truck belonging to the brother of a police officer; the brother has since left the state.  And there were scrapes on Josh’s chin, hands and knees that are consistent with being pulled by his feet along the drag marks found in the sand that lead to where Josh’s body was eventually discovered.

Despite speculation from Josh’s friends that foul play was involved and with no fluids in the lungs to support an accident in the water, the cause of death was instead eventually determined to be accidental drowning.

In 2009 Melody Schmidt retained the assistance of the seasoned homicide investigation team at the Fair Justice Foundation. The FJF team has investigated numerous high profile crimes and cold cases such as JonBenet Ramsey; Columbine; Charles Manson and the Tate-LaBianca murders - - just to mention a few. OM Gray, retired Sherriff’s Captain and Municipal Court Judge, reports that there are at least 50 newly uncovered pieces of evidence further support that Joshua’s death was no accident. Gray said “we remain fully committed to following this evidence wherever it may lead us in seeking justice for Joshua.”

Robin Sax, former Prosecutor, author, legal analyst, and victims advocate had said, “If this young man had drowned, even in an inch of water, there would have been clear evidence."  Sax continued "since there was foreign DNA found on the outside of Josh’s clothing and the cell phone in his pocket was still operational, it is pretty obvious that something more than an  unfortunate accident happened to Josh." Sax praised the efforts and interest in this case, stating "I applaud Melody’s tenacity in seeking justice for her son. The generous reward offered by the unknown donor is deeply encouraging as is the professionals over at the Fair Justice Foundation and the ongoing support of the Gulf Coast community to demand justice for Joshua."

An escrow account has been established by the anonymous benefactor’s attorneys to manage the reward until the right person comes along with the right information about what happened to Joshua. All information will be evaluated by investigators with the ultimate goal of an arrest and conviction.

“It is never too late to do the right thing,” investigator Gray concluded. “I invite anyone with information to come forward.  It will only take one phone call or email to bring justice for Joshua.”

To report information: Call the anonymous Fair Justice Foundation tip line at 206-312-7399 or email tips@fairjusticefoundation.org

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About the Fair Justice Foundation:

The Fair Justice Foundation was founded to provide information and awareness to state legislators considering passage of a DNA Fingerprint Law. The DNA Fingerprint law would require that any person arrested for a felony be DNA Fingerprinted and that data be submitted to the National CODIS database.

The Discovery Project was initiated in late 2008 to serve families of victims of violent crimes where the case remains unsolved by reassuring them that people continue to care and will not let the case be forgotten.

Please contact us if you would like more information, if you have information on a case, or if you would like to offer your services to assist us in our mission. You may visit us on the web at www.fairjusticefoundation.org