JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The body buried on a potato farm in Hastings has been identified as Putnam County father Chad Mullen, the sheriff's office confirmed.
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office said Mullen's manner of death was determined to be homicide, but they are not prepared to release the cause of death. They have named his "on again, off again" girlfriend as a person of interest.
Two weeks ago, Mullen's family offered a $15,000 reward for information that could help them find him. At that time, police said he had not been seen since Sept. 9 in Palatka.
His phone last pinged on Sept. 10 at Stormy's Stables on San Mateo Road in Satsuma, which police say is a business run by the "on again, off again" girlfriend, Caylen Deller.
Wednesday, police confirmed Deller is a person of interest in the case. She has not yet been named as a suspect. There are no other suspects.
PCSO asked to interview Deller, but she declined. They say they have tried to contact her many times and would very much like to interview her, adding that she has made "outlandish statements."
Police records show that on August 1, Mullen received a trespass warning that ordered him to stay off of the property where Deller lived in Satsuma. Deller said she stopped living with Mullen "to get away from the drugs and to make a clean start with her life," the police report from the incident shows. She told police Mullen came home and attempted to open the sliding glass door. When she realized who it was, she asked him to go away and said she would meet him somewhere else, just not at the house, according to the report.
She asked police to warn Mullen off her property "as he does not understand that he cannot come to her home anytime" and "no longer wanted to be involved with" him. The responding officer said Mullen understood and left without incident.
PCSO searched the property at Stormy's Stable twice, having a dive team search two ponds there. They did not find Mullen. He was found on Monday on a farm property off Federal Point Road in Hastings, where police were pursuing a lead in Mullen's case. They dug on the property and found the body in the ground.
Mullen's daughter, Holli Mullen, told First Coast News that she last spoke to him on Sept. 9. He told her his truck had broken down by the side of the road, and he needed to get the phone number of a friend. She believes this is the last time he spoke with his family.
He was supposed to go to his brother's wedding in Texas, but he did not show up. His family saw this as a red flag, as he had already bought a plane ticket.
Mullen's ex-wife, his daughter's mother, reported him missing Sept. 13.
Holli Mullen says her father had no connection to the place her father was found. She believes she knows who killed her father, but would not say who.