Man who found missing Putnam County man Chad Mullen speaks out

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla, — 53-year-old Chad Mullen’s body was found buried on a farm in Hastings a little more than a week ago after he disappeared for almost two months.

On Wednesday, Action News Jax Shanila Kabir spoke to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office as well as the man who led deputies to Mullen’s body found in a shallow grave.

Robert Rash said he is thankful he unlocked a big piece of evidence in the Chad Mullen disappearance, after locating where Mullen was buried on Federals Point Road in Hastings on Byrnes Farm.

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“We found him probably no more than 20 to 25 feet off of the side of the road into the front yard of the property,” said Rash.

Rash is a mechanic/equipment operator on Byrnes Farm, and he said he was out of town when Chad Mullen vanished. However, what caught his eye when he came back, he stresses was this unusual, new dirt pile.

“It was just the location of the pile that made no sense because there’s no road going through there. There’s no drainage going through there,” said Rash.

Rash showed Action News Jax pictures of the pile before officers began digging.

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He said he heard too much about “a possible dead body under it” from people who also worked on the farm and that is when he said he went to the police.

“I heard a story like how they brought a body, put it in a pond, and then moved it here under that dirt pile over there,” said Rash.

He said the Mullen case has the community worried and many here are waiting to see the people responsible in handcuffs.

The spokesperson from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said they are making progress in the investigation with search warrants conducted and weapons possibly linked to the case retrieved.

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They add they are looking at more than one person of interest; Caylen Deller, Mullen’s former girlfriend, is one person of interest.

Action News Jax has reached out to people reported to be among the last who saw Chad Mullen alive, including Deller.

We are waiting to hear from them.

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