Relatives say Keisha Jones was last seen after stops at South Florida clubs.
VIRGINIA KEY, FL — The FBI is investigating after the body of 31-year-old Keisha Jones was found in the waters off Biscayne Bay near Virginia Key, days after police said she was last seen in South Florida.
Jones’ death has left her family searching for answers and investigators working to rebuild her final movements. North Miami Beach police had issued a missing person’s flyer before her body was found. The case now involves federal agents, who are looking into the circumstances of how Jones ended up dead near a research area on Virginia Key.
Police said Jones was last seen at 6 a.m. Friday at Dean’s Gold on 163rd Street in North Miami Beach. Investigators later said they believed she booked a rideshare and traveled to Scarlett’s Cabaret off Hallandale Beach Boulevard in Broward County. Relatives said that was the last place she was seen. A family member gave surveillance video to a South Florida television station that they said appeared to show Jones outside Scarlett’s. Her relatives said they believe the video may show some of the last known moments of her life. Jones’ family, most of whom are from Michigan, said they are in disbelief as they wait for more information about who she was with and what happened after she left North Miami Beach.
Three days after Jones was last seen, her body was found in Biscayne Bay near a NOAA research building on Virginia Key, according to local reporting that cited sources familiar with the discovery. Officials have not publicly released a cause or manner of death. It also was not clear Wednesday how long Jones had been in the water, who reported the body, or whether investigators had identified a suspect. The FBI has not announced any arrests. Investigators are trying to piece together the timeline from Friday morning through the discovery of Jones’ body, including her reported rideshare trip and her time at the Hallandale Beach club. Family members said they want to know who was with Jones in the hours before she died.
The case crosses several South Florida locations. Dean’s Gold is in North Miami Beach, in Miami-Dade County. Scarlett’s Cabaret is in Hallandale Beach, in Broward County. Virginia Key sits near Miami and Key Biscayne, along Biscayne Bay. The area includes beaches, causeways, parkland and marine research sites. The discovery near a NOAA building placed the investigation close to one of the bay’s best-known research zones. Authorities have not said why the FBI is leading or assisting in the case, and they have not detailed which local agencies are still involved. The public information released so far centers on Jones’ missing person report, the last known places she was seen and the recovery of her body off Virginia Key.
The next steps in the investigation are expected to include a review of surveillance video, rideshare records, phone records and witness statements from people who may have seen Jones at either club. The medical examiner’s findings will be central to the case because officials have not announced how Jones died. No court hearing or charging decision has been announced. The FBI said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding her death, while North Miami Beach police previously handled the missing person report. As of Wednesday, investigators had not publicly said whether foul play was suspected. They also had not released a full timeline of Jones’ movements after 6 a.m. Friday.
Jones’ relatives said the lack of clear answers has deepened their grief. They said they are focused on the same basic questions investigators are now trying to answer: who last saw Jones, where she went after leaving North Miami Beach and how her body ended up in Biscayne Bay. The surveillance video described by family members has become one piece of that timeline, but officials have not said what it shows or whether it has changed the direction of the investigation. The case has drawn attention across Miami-Dade and Broward because Jones was reportedly last seen at one location, believed to have traveled to another, and was later found miles away in the water.
The investigation remained open Wednesday, July 1, with no announced arrests and no public ruling on Jones’ cause of death. Federal investigators are still working to determine what happened between her last known sighting and the discovery near Virginia Key.
Author note: Last updated July 1, 2026.