Courtesy of Spell family

Jimmie Spell

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A Georgia family searching for their father who was last seen leaving Marco Island 10 days ago, need not search any longer.

A married Naples couple traveling on I-75 helped find the man, Jimmie Spell, 62, about one week after he went missing, but not in the condition the family had hoped for.

Sgt. Al Elvins of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia said that because the man was missing for so long, an official identification is not complete, but a tattoo on the man’s arm is leading the family to believe the right man was found in his car, which was located in the brush just off the right shoulder of I-75 north of exit 101 and found by passerby nearly one week later.

Spell was reported missing by his adult daughter, Tonya Spell, July 24. Tonya was reportedly following just a few minutes behind Spell after the family was visiting Marco Island and on their way back to Georgia.

Lynne and Curtis Hancock of East Naples saw a car matching the description of Spell’s in the brush off I-75.

Spell made it only a couple miles in the 400 mile trip from Marco Island to Georgia.

Lynne, 40 and her husband Curtis, 37, were traveling north on I-75 from their home near exit 101 to go out for lunch Friday.

Curtis saw disturbed brush, some green paint and a reflector sticking out of the bushes on the side of the road. Lynne said she had heard on the news about the missing man last seen leaving Marco Island in a green Mustang with Georgia license plates.

Spell’s family was concerned he was hurt, Lynne recalled from a news broadcast.

Curtis saw “dead trees in a circular pattern and it looked like something had driven through that spot off the road ... It looks like when you went off the road,” he said to his wife.

“I was run off the road 12 years ago and afterwards we’d driven by the spot and saw how the brush died right around where I went off the road,” Lynne recalled.

The couple quickly put the events together and turned around to return to the tail light they saw sticking out of the brush.

Curtis called the Florida Highway Patrol and led investigators to the location.

Lynne said she saw the body “still buckled” in the car.

The Ford Mustang was buried for days in the brush right off I-75 near mile marker 103. Friday it was pulled out.

Sergeant Al Elvins of the Houston County Sheriff’s office reported that Spell most likely died of natural causes, pending toxicology reports.

A dedicated father of six, Spell’s family will now wait for autopsy results to determine what caused him to lose control and end up off the road.

Investigators believe the vehicle was traveling west on I-75 near mile marker 103 when it traveled off the road and onto the north shoulder. The vehicle collided with several trees in a wooded area and came to rest obscured from view by trees and brush.

A flier circulated by Spell’s family described the 62-year-old man as last seen at noon on July 24 leaving 100 Palm St. on Marco Island, believed to be alone and heading north on I-75 to Valdosta, Ga.

It was also written that he was wearing dark blue shorts with pockets and a light blue tank top and driving a green 2000 Ford Mustang convertible with a tan top.

The Hancock’s said everything matched the description.

“Curtis is very observant,” Lynne said and added “He’s basically a hero because this family could have still been looking for him and wondering if someone did something to hurt him.”

Roger Lalonde contributed to this report.