Missing Gainesville Man Kills Himself at Jacksonville Airport
A Gainesville man who had been missing for more than a week was found at the Jacksonville International Airport Friday morning minutes before he apparently shot and killed himself.
A Silver Alert was issued last weekend for 66-year-old David Reiser. He had last been heard from at about 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 6 when he spoke to a friend via cell phone.
Alachua County Sheriffís Office spokesman Lt. Steve Maynard said Detective Sheryl
Strickland was notified on Thursday that Reiserís green van was found in a parking lot at the Jacksonville airport but there was no one inside the van.
Maynard said Strickland was at the airport on Friday morning planning to poll ticket agents and others at the airport to see if anyone could recall seeing Reiser, but first she decided to take another look at the van and was accompanied by officers from
Jacksonville area agencies when she approached it at about 10 a.m.
ìShe (Strickland) was able to look through the tinted windows and saw a man sleeping
in the back of the van,î Maynard said. ìShe tapped on the glass and spoke to him through the closed window when he woke up, but he did not appear to understand what she was saying. He reached for a handgun and pointed it toward the detective and she took cover.î
After hearing a single gunshot, Strickland and the other officers with her called for backup from a specialized team that carried a ballistic shield as they approached the van. Inside the officers found Rieser dead, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Maynard said. Reiserís remains were taken to the medical examinerís office in Jacksonville for an autopsy.
The Jacksonville Sheriffís Office and Jacksonville Airport Authority are investigating the fatal shooting.