OKALOOSA COUNTY - Family and friends are mourning the death of a local judge.

This morning... Judge George "Robert" Barron was found dead in his car.

He was elected to serve as a judge on the First Judicial Circuit In Okaloosa County in 1979.

They're shocked and saddened, but they're not giving out a lot of details.

Here's what we know.

Judge Barron was found in his truck in a Shalimar neighborhood just five minutes from the courthouse, and not far from his home.

Early this morning in Shalimar, the neighborhood around Eighth Street And Meigs Drive was barricaded off. When carol dukes saw the emergency vehicles, her first thought was for her family.

Carol Dukes "God, my daughter's gonna wake up and be terrified if she sees police cars"

But it was another family's tragedy unfolding. Dukes walked closer to the truck which somehow had run into a stone wall in front of a waterfront home.

Carol Dukes/Shalimar "There was the white SUV and they were just getting ready to pull the tarp over it"

She says the driver's window was open, and she looked inside. She saw no blood, but another image she'll never forget.

Carol Dukes "And I saw a male slumped over the steering wheel. Evidently not moving, and looked like he was deceased"

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office says the man was circuit Judge Robert Barron, a longtime Shalimar resident. Few details have been released into the circumstances of his death.

Carol Dukes "They wouldn't tell anybody what happened or what they thought happened or anything, other than there was a dead body in the car"

As investigators swept nearby lawns and trees with metal detectors, neighbors shared memories of the man they all seemed to know. Attorney Charles Schneider will remember Judge Barrons reputation for hard work and evenhanded decisions.

Charles Schneider "Always fair to everybody, what I could see"

The sheriff's office says there is no foul play suspected in Judge Barron's death.

Until the Medical Examiner finishes the autopsy, officials say they probably won't have much more information to offer.Judge Barron's Death