Man found in Naples Municipal Airport pond was family's 'glue'

Carol Winters is still waiting for her son to climb up the steps to their East Naples apartment.

Her son Jacques Saintil went missing in late January — one week before his body turned up in a pond at the Naples Municipal Airport.

“Last time I saw him, he was walking down the steps and said, ‘Mommy, you smell good. Love you. I’ll be back.’ I watched him leave smiling. Now he’s never coming back.”

According to Naples police, Saintil was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed off Airport-Pulling and Radio roads around 11 p.m. Jan. 23.

The vehicle's driver, whom police have not identified, told detectives Saintil walked away from the crash scene. That night, the driver said they saw Saintil dive into the pond where his body was found.

Saintil’s body was in the pond for six days before a passer-by found him and called 911 on Jan. 29.

His family reported him missing to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office the morning his body was found. According to the missing person report, Saintil’s sister told a deputy she repeatedly called his phone and couldn’t reach him.

More:Death of man found in Naples airport pond ruled accidental drowning

“We looked for him for six days,” Winters said. “We went to places we thought he’d do, called his friends, posted on social media.”

Saintil’s family held a funeral and burial last weekend. His mother and four siblings are trying to figure out how to move on without the person they all considered their “glue.”

“He kept us together, kept us whole,” Winters said.

Saintil’s mom said he was affectionate toward his family and could always make someone laugh. She loved his warmth and his smile. Everything else, she said, drove her crazy.

“You couldn’t stay mad at him for long, though,” she said.

Sitting at a picnic table outside her family’s apartment Thursday, Winters said it has been difficult for her and her other children to wrap their heads around Saintil’s death and how it happened.

Winters is facing her grief while comforting her other kids and her nieces and nephews through theirs.

“It really just hit me,” Winters said. “I don’t understand. I don’t know how to feel, what to do, what to say, how I’m supposed to feel. Everyone is taking it so hard.”