Sheriff: Man missing in North Lakeland presumed murdered

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Ethan Fussell, 21, who has been missing for nearly a month, is now considered a homicide victim. Two men linked 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,” Judd said at a news conference Monday afternoon. “We have every reason to believe at this point that Ethan Fussell is the victim of a 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 resided. He added that someone had tried to “clean up the crime scene.”

Missing since May 7: Polk County sheriff's detectives, family members, friends and search group We Are The Essentials have been searching for Fussell since he disappeared May 7 from the Driggers Road address in rural North Lakeland.

Hiding in Mulberry: A person in Mulberry alerted sheriff's deputies Sunday that the two men wanted for questioning were hiding in a home. One had altered his appearance, cutting his hair and beard, while the second was seen on a porch wearing a full face mask.

On Sunday, sheriff's deputies surrounded the house and arrested the two men. Judd said they were not cooperating.

Talon Isaac Page, 25, with whom Fussell lived, was arrested Sunday and charged with accessory after the fact to a capital crime and destruction or tampering with evidence. Page's arrest record includes 11 criminal charges and 16 misdemeanors.

Adonai Moran-Rivera, 21, also lived at the Driggers Road home. He is charged with eight felonies, including one count of accessory after the fact to a capital crime, false imprisonment and destruction or tampering with evidence. His criminal history includes 41 felony arrests, 16 misdemeanors and a stint in state prison, from which he was released in May 2023. He told authorities he was a gang member.

Judd said they believed Page killed Fussell — who considered Page his best friend and called him “brother” — while Moran-Rivera participated in the crime.

Drug traffic : Judd said drugs were sold and used at the Driggers Road home and that Moran-Rivera was selling drugs for Page. Witnesses told detectives that Page and Fussell had been arguing, either over drugs or money.

Who was Ethan Fussell? On May 16, Lisa Fussell, who adopted Ethan, posted on Facebook who she knew her son and shared a video of him, with photos of him fishing, eating, spending time with his family and smiling.

“We know that the party life he has lived with his friends over the past few years is not the side he always wanted us to know,” Lisa Fussell wrote. “I want the world to know the sweet, funny, smart, hard-working, loyal man we know and love.”

Lisa Fussell said Ethan was in a terrible car accident, was thrown from the vehicle when he was 7 and suffered a head trauma that required several surgeries.

Additionally, he was removed from his home, separated from his younger sister, and then adopted by the Fussell family. She said most years he was on the honor roll, 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 partying route. Then he left school and moved away.

“Even though we don't know much about his recent life, we DO know who he has been most of his life and who he is deep down,” she wrote. “He has survived so much trauma in his past. We pray he survives this and comes home soon.

Now, Judd says, all they want is for Ethan's body to be found.

Never in difficulty: Judd called Fussell a “good kid” with no criminal history who, at 21, was trying to spread his wings and grow up. Not wanting to follow his parents' rules, he moved in with Page.

“Unfortunately, he made friends with people like these,” Judd said. “That's what ultimately cost him his life…When your mom and dad tell you, 'If you hang out with dogs, you get fleas,' they know what they're talking about. Because the reality is he was a strong kid and now he's passed away. And his body, we don't know where it is. We want to return Ethan to his wonderful family.