Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said 21-year-old Ethan Fussell, who has been missing for nearly a month, is now considered a homicide victim. Two men connected to the case have been arrested.
“(Detectives) confirmed that the blood that we seized from the house at 1116 Driggers Road … was, in fact, Ethan’s blood,” Judd said during a press conference Monday afternoon. “We have every reason to believe at this point that Ethan Fussell is a victim of murder … We still have not found Ethan Fussell.”
Evidence: Judd said detectives found a significant amount of blood in the mobile home near Driggers and Tom Costine roads, where Fussell had been staying. He added that someone tried to “clean up the crime scene.”
Missing Since May 7: Polk County Sheriff’s detectives, family members, friends and the search group We Are The Essentials have been looking for Fussell since he disappeared on May 7 from the Driggers Road address in rural north Lakeland.
Hiding in Mulberry: A person in Mulberry alerted sheriff’s deputies on Sunday that the two men wanted for questioning were hiding at a home there. One had altered his appearance, cutting his hair and beard, while the second was seen on a porch wearing a full stocking mask.
On Sunday, sheriff’s deputies surrounded the house and took the two men into custody. Judd said they are not cooperating.
Talon Isaac Page, 25, with whom Fussell had been living, was arrested Sunday and charged with being an accessory after the fact of a capital felony and destroying or tampering with evidence. Page’s arrest record has 11 previous felony charges and 16 misdemeanors.
Adonai Moran-Rivera, 21, also lived at the Driggers Road house. He is charged with eight felonies including one count of accessory after the fact of a capital felony, false imprisonment and destroying or tampering with evidence. His criminal history includes 41 previous felony arrests, 16 misdemeanors and a stint in state prison, from which he was released in May 2023. He has told officials that he is a gang member.
Judd said they believe Page killed Fussell — who considered Page his best friend and called him “brother” — while Moran-Rivera participated in the crime.
Drug dealing: Judd said drugs were sold and used at the Driggers Road home and that Moran-Rivera sold drugs for Page. Witnesses told detectives that Page and Fussell had been arguing, either about drugs or money.
Who was Ethan Fussell? On May 16, Lisa Fussell, who adopted Ethan, posted on Facebook who she knew her son to be and shared a video of him, with pictures of him fishing, eating, spending time with his family and smiling.
“We know that the partying life he lived the past few years around his friends isn’t the side he ever wanted us to know,” Lisa Fussell wrote. “I want the world to know the sweet, funny, smart, hardworking and loyal man that we know and love.”
Lisa Fussell said Ethan had been in a terrible car accident, ejected from the vehicle when he was 7 years old and suffered a traumatic brain injury that required multiple surgeries.
In addition, he was removed from his home, separated from his younger sister, and later adopted by the Fussell family. She said most years, he was an honor roll student, attended church and men’s group and worked in the family business, Fussell Well Drilling Inc.
A photo shows he was a 2021 graduate of Tenoroc High School.
Lisa Fussell said Ethan enrolled in welding school, met new people there and went down the path of partying. Then he quit school and moved out.
“While we don’t know a lot about his recent life, we KNOW who he’s been most of his life and who he is at his core,” she wrote. “He’s survived so much trauma in the past. We pray he survives this and comes home soon.”
Now, Judd said, all they want is for Ethan’s body to be found.
Never in trouble: Judd called Fussell a “good boy” with no criminal history who, at 21, was trying to stretch his wings and grow up. Not wanting to abide by his parents’ rules, he moved in with Page.
“Unfortunately, he befriended the likes of these folks,” Judd said. “Now that’s what ultimately cost him his life … When your mom and dad tells you, ‘If you hang out with dogs, you get fleas,’ they know what they’re talking about. Because the reality is this was a solid kid and he is now deceased. And his body, we don’t know where it is. We want to return Ethan to his wonderful family.”
Submit a tip
Heartland Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of Fussell’s body. You can remain anonymous. There are four ways to submit a tip:
- Call 1-888-400 TIPS (8477)
- Dial **TIPS from a cell phone
- Visit the Heartland Crime Stoppers website and click “Submit A Tip.”
- Download the free “P3tips” mobile app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
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Plenty o’ hungry gators out in dem woods.