Patrick Lee Mullins’ Family Is Still Looking For More Clues About His Death

Out on Nov. 1, the latest batch of new Unsolved Mysteries episodes includes the 2013 death of Patrick Lee Mullins. As the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports, Mullins went missing while riding his boat on Florida’s Braden River. His body was ultimately found over a week later, tied to a 25-pound anchor in four feet of water. It was ruled that he died of a shotgun wound.

Warning: This article contains mentions of suicide.

According to the Herald-Tribune, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office described Mullins’ death as a suicide at the time. However, his widow, Jill Mullins, has previously told the paper that she finds that “disappointing.” There are several elements of Mullins’ death that deviate from this straightforward explanation. Investigators, per the Herald-Tribune, “found no health scares, no drug or alcohol problems, no financial irregularities ... and no suggestions that he might want to do himself harm,” and said Mullins did not own a shotgun. Forensic experts couldn’t rule out the possibility that Mullins received more than one shotgun blast, either.

So, what happened to the husband, father, and local school librarian? There are a few theories surrounding Patrick Mullins’ mysterious death. One theory suggests that Mullins was murdered after he encountered criminal activity on the water — and it’s one that his family personally subscribes to, per the Herald-Tribune. Redditor u/doinmybest4now agrees with this theory, too, positing that Mullins “saw something going on when he was out on his boat and ... probably planned to report it and was stopped by the perpetrators.”

Another Redditor, u/sunsetscorpio, posits another theory and writes that Mullins’ alleged murderer “would have had to be on the boat with him,” suggesting it was someone the late librarian knew personally. “I doubt the person pulled the gun on him because apparently there were a lot of people on the water that way so the killer would have had him go deeper than he originally planned to get somewhere private.”

A variation of this theory is explored in Unsolved Mysteries, where it’s revealed that family friend Damon Crestwood had a strong, potentially suspicious response to Mullins’ death and its anniversary every year. (Crestwood died in 2017.)

Though the sheriff’s office reportedly approached Mullins’ case as a suicide early on, the late librarian’s family has disputed this possibility — including in a 2020 post on the Pat Mullins - Unsolved Facebook page. When Mullins’ body was found, the page writes, “the MSO spokesman at that time told the gathering reporters to leave as dealing with a suicide would be difficult enough for the family without news coverage.”

However, the memorial page reports that this description of the death by a spokesperson, and not the medical examiner, “seems to have eliminated the possibility of a thorough investigation by a trained homicide team.”

With the case featured on Unsolved Mysteries, the family may get some answers as more people learn about Mullins’ death.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which provides free 24/7 support. You can also reach out to the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860, the Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386, or to your local suicide crisis center.