In the late summer of 2026, concern grew for 60-year-old Sean Michael Krause, a resident of Lakeland, Florida, after he was last seen on September 21st. The events that led to his disappearance began to unfold on that Monday when an employee at the Polk County Tax Collector's Office Information Technology building in Bartow made a disturbing discovery. A small, hidden camera was located inside a disposable toilet seat cover dispenser within a women's restroom at the employee-only facility. The Polk County Sheriff's Office was alerted, and an investigation was promptly launched. Detectives reviewed a memory card found in the device, which contained unsettling footage. The video showed a man with a long beard placing the camera, and employees identified the individual as Sean Krause, the IT Manager for the facility.
As investigators delved deeper, the memory card revealed multiple recordings of at least three women who had been filmed unknowingly. When deputies went to Krause's Lakeland home to question him, they learned he had already been there and left. A witness at the residence informed the authorities that Krause had admitted to secretly recording his female co-workers in the bathroom. According to the witness, after his confession, Krause changed his shirt, took some medication, left his cell phone behind, and departed from the home in his vehicle. This initiated a search for Krause, who was now not only a person of interest in a serious crime but also a missing and endangered individual.
The search for Sean Krause came to a somber conclusion the following day. On the evening of September 21, a park ranger at Colt Creek State Park discovered Krause's unoccupied vehicle. Inside the car, investigators found a small notebook that contained a detailed suicide note. Deputies began an extensive search of the sprawling park grounds that continued through the night. On the morning of Tuesday, September 22, 2026, deputies located Krause's body in a wooded area of the park. Official reports from the Polk County Sheriff's Office indicated that Krause had apparently taken his own life. The case that began as a workplace complaint about a hidden camera tragically transitioned into a death investigation, concluding the search for the missing 60-year-old IT manager. Had he been found alive, authorities stated he would have faced multiple felony charges for digital voyeurism.
Last Seen: Sep 21, 2026
