Deputies said the case began with a missing person report and led investigators across county lines.
FORT MYERS, FL — A 47-year-old North Fort Myers man was arrested Wednesday after authorities said a woman’s body found in the Peace River in March was tied to a missing person report he filed in Lee County.
Joshua Cullen faces charges of neglect of an elderly person and abuse of a dead human body, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno and Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell announced the arrest during a joint update. Investigators said the case remains active, and detectives are still reviewing evidence to decide whether more charges are warranted.
Deputies said the investigation began May 25, when Lee County deputies responded to a home in North Fort Myers to take a missing person report from Cullen. Marceno said Cullen told deputies the woman he had been caring for had suffered a stroke, had been hospitalized or had left with an unidentified wealthy man. Cullen also told deputies he had not seen her since March. “What began as a missing person investigation soon revealed a web of lies, deception, and a shocking disregard for human dignity,” Marceno said.
As detectives worked to find the woman, they learned that Charlotte County deputies had recovered human remains near the Peace River on March 29. Prummell said boaters spotted something large under the water. Deputies later found a woman wrapped in carpet, bound tightly and weighed down with cinder blocks and chains. Authorities said evidence suggests the remains are those of the woman Cullen reported missing. Officials did not immediately release the woman’s name in the public case summary.
Investigators said Cullen is accused of moving the woman’s body from Lee County to Charlotte County, wrapping it in a rug, weighing it down and leaving it in the river. Detectives also said they learned Cullen had been using the woman’s financial accounts and had bought an RV. The sheriff’s office said investigators found that some of the woman’s personal belongings, including her bed and other furniture, were missing from the home. Authorities have not said when or how the woman died.
Deputies said license plate reader technology helped connect Cullen to the area where the body was found. According to investigators, Cullen’s vehicle was captured March 28 traveling toward Hunters Creek with a wheelbarrow secured to the roof. Detectives later determined the wheelbarrow was the same one found near the place where the woman’s body was recovered. Marceno said investigators believe the woman died inside the North Fort Myers home and that Cullen continued living there after her death.
The case brought together detectives from Lee and Charlotte counties because the report began at a home in North Fort Myers while the remains were found in Charlotte County. The Peace River runs through parts of southwest Florida before flowing toward Charlotte Harbor, and the recovery area was handled by Charlotte County deputies. The sheriff’s offices said the cross-county work helped investigators match the missing person case to the body found in March.
Cullen’s bond was set at $50,000, according to the Lee County booking information cited by authorities. The charges announced Wednesday do not include a homicide charge. Investigators said they are still gathering and processing evidence. That work includes reviewing records, physical evidence and the timeline between the woman’s last known contact, the March 28 vehicle sighting, the March 29 recovery of the body and the May 25 missing person report.
Prummell said the first break in the river case came from the boaters who noticed something unusual in the water and reported it. Marceno said the later missing person report gave detectives another path into the case. Both sheriffs described the investigation as ongoing. Officials did not say whether Cullen had entered a plea or whether an attorney was listed for him in the case.
As of Wednesday, Cullen remained charged with neglect of an elderly person and abuse of a dead human body. Detectives said the next step is to finish processing evidence and determine whether prosecutors will receive additional findings from the investigation.
Author note: Last updated June 3, 2026.