A 45-year-old Marathon liveaboard who was seriously hurt after she told investigators she was attacked by a machete-wielding man Thursday night remained in stable condition at a Miami hospital on Tuesday.
Crystal Marie Young was airlifted shortly after she was found on a 27-foot sailboat anchored in Boot Key Harbor near Boot Key Bridge about 9 p.m. with serious injuries, including many deep cuts to her hands, arms, head, chest and elsewhere. Her eyes were swollen shut. Young was found by a neighboring liveaboard who took her to his boat and called 911. A machete was found on Young’s boat. They also found a large amount of blood in multiple areas of Young’s boat.
Deputies, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, began searching for a male suspect. Deputies searched several boats in Boot Key Harbor in an attempt to find the suspect. A dinghy with blood on it was found in the mangroves on Boot Key. The dinghy was later confirmed to be the suspect’s dinghy. The suspect is also a liveaboard in Boot Key Harbor.
The suspect was found dead, floating in the mangroves on Boot Key about 10:30 a.m. Friday. The suspect’s identity is being withheld pending notification of his next-of-kin. Detectives say the deceased suspect and Young knew each other prior to the incident and may have dated at one time. They were not married. The suspect did not live on Young’s boat.
The case remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.
More information about the case will be released as it becomes available.
