Drowned woman's family thanks police, public

Mary Zelter, center, poses for a family picture on Feb. 16 with her cousin Michael Caudel-Feagan, right, and his wife, Linda, in Dunedin. Ten days later she disappeared after signing out of her assisted living facility in Largo. She was found dead in the water near a boat ramp late Monday night. [Courtesy of Mary Lallucci]

CLEARWATER -- Mary Zelter, the 86-year-old woman who went missing last week and was found Monday night, died by drowning, according to results released today by the medical examiner.

Zelter was found floating in the water near a Clearwater boat ramp late Monday. Her submerged car was pulled out of the water the next morning.

While police have said there is no outward sign of criminal activity, Clearwater police spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly-Watts said it was too early to make a final conclusion. Police are still waiting for toxicology reports and for her car to dry out enough for it to be examined.

Zelter's daughter, Mary Lallucci, spoke briefly to reporters this morning in her driveway.
She thanked police, the public and the media for helping to search for her mother, who went missing for a week after signing out of her assisted living facility.

"The human kindness that has come forward is amazing," Lallucci said.

It is still a mystery to the family why Zelter disappeared. Lalluci said police believed that her mother drove into the water on the same day she went missing. She had no cell phone at the time; she usually went on short trips.

But a week ago Tuesday she drove to an Albertson's in Largo, bought $30 in items, and then disappeared.

Her body was recovered about 10 miles away.

Lallucci said the family will pursue a so-called Silver Alert system in Florida that would help locate missing and endangered senior citizens.

"We have no way yet of knowing whether it would have helped my mom," Lallucci's statement said, "but there's no question that in a state with as many senior citizens as ours, the ability to rapidly alert law enforcement and citizens of a missing senior is essential."

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- Jonathan Abel, Times staff writer