Storm-Related Death Reported in Indian Rocks Beach

A 71-year-old Indian Rocks Beach resident drowned in floodwater outside his home after apparently suffering a heart attack Sunday, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Armando Perez's body was discovered by a neighbor who tried to administer CPR with no success, according to investigators.

Perez's death is being attributed to Tropical Storm Debby, which flooded neighborhoods throughout the Tampa Bay area this week.

"The autopsy confirms that the drowning death is related to Tropical Storm Debby," according to a statement from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Preliminary autopsy reports show drowning as the cause of death with heart disease as a contributing factor.

Detectives, working with the medical examiner's office, believe Perez may have fallen into ankle- to knee-deep water when he suffered a heart attack while waiting for a relative to pick him during the tropical storm.

Perez had just been talking to his one of his sons by phone on Sunday. He was told by his son to stay inside and wait for him to pick him up.

Another one of Perez's sons called and was on the phone with him when Perez said, "They're here." Knowing that his brother was on the way to pick up their father, this son thought his brother had arrived at the house, when in fact he had not.

Perez was found floating face down in the water by a neighbor. Perez's son arrived a short time later to learn that his father had just died.

Perez was deceased when Pinellas County sheriff's deptuties arrived.