LAKELAND, Fla. – A Polk County Tax Collector’s Office IT manager was found dead in a wooded area of Colt Creek State Park after investigators identified him as the suspect accused of secretly recording women inside an employee restroom.
Polk County sheriff’s deputies found the body of Sean Michael Krause, 60, of Lakeland, at about 8:28 a.m. Sept. 22. Investigators said preliminary evidence indicates Krause died by suicide, though the Medical Examiner’s Office will make the official determination.
The investigation began a day earlier when the Sheriff’s Office was called to the Polk County Tax Collector’s Office Information Technology building in Bartow. The facility is separate from the main Tax Collector’s Office and is restricted to employees.
An employee had discovered a small camera concealed inside a disposable toilet seat cover holder box in the women’s restroom.
A detective examined the camera and its recording device and reviewed an SD card found inside, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said the recordings showed a white man with a long beard placing the camera inside the restroom. Tax Collector’s Office employees identified the man in the footage as Krause, who worked as the agency’s IT manager.
The SD card also contained multiple recordings of at least three women who had been recorded without their knowledge, according to investigators.
Deputies went to Krause’s Lakeland home and learned he had been there earlier. A witness told investigators Krause admitted secretly recording employees while they used the restroom.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the witness said Krause changed his shirt, took some medication and left his cellphone behind before leaving the house.
Detectives began searching for him.
At about 8:25 p.m. Sept. 21, a ranger at Colt Creek State Park reported finding a vehicle matching the one deputies were seeking. Investigators found a small notebook inside containing what the Sheriff’s Office described as a detailed suicide note.
Deputies searched the park into the following morning before finding Krause dead in a wooded area.
Sheriff’s officials said Krause would have faced multiple felony counts of video voyeurism had he lived.
Polk County Tax Collector Joe G. Tedder said Krause was terminated as soon as his office identified him as the person suspected of placing the camera.
“I am shocked and disturbed by these events and deeply saddened for the employees who were directly impacted by this terrible act,” Tedder said.
The Sheriff’s Office said its investigation remains open while authorities await findings from the Medical Examiner’s Office.