The murder of Henry Allwardt remains unsolved two years after the security guard's bullet-riddled body was found in his small apartment.

But the case, which is the most recent murder in Islamorada, remains active, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators have identified what Detective Sgt. Linda Mixon calls "a strong person of interest."

"This is definitely not a cold case. It is being worked, so we're hopeful," Mixon said last week.

Allwardt, 70, a security guard at The Moorings Village, was found dead on the evening of Sept. 12, 2010, lying on the floor beside his bed in the leafy Upper Matecumbe Key neighborhood of Pirates Lair.

Police have long said they believe Allwardt was killed by someone who knew him.

His modest apartment was not the type to attract a thief's attention in target-rich Islamorada. And neighbors said in the aftermath of Allwardt's death that he didn't have much to steal.

"I feel it was somebody that knew him and was angry with him," former sheriff's Detective Terry Smith told The Citizen a few months after the murder.

But detectives have been reluctant to divulge much information about the case, for fear, they say, of providing any insight that would help the killer.

In December 2010, Smith said detectives were awaiting lab results from fibers and trace evidence found at the scene, potentially including DNA evidence.

The most recent entry into the Allwardt file, made by Detective Deborah Ryan on Aug. 21, has a similar message.

"Awaiting results from [the Florida Department of Law Enforcement] for additional testing of evidence submitted," it says.

The report, which is otherwise heavily redacted, does confirm that investigators continue to work on the case.

Four entries have been made since late May, following a gap of activity that lasted more than five months.

Mixon said the Florida Keys office of the FDLE, which has been involved in the Allwardt investigation since the beginning, recently sought the assistance of agents from Miami as well.

Those agents were taken to the scene about a month ago, she said.

Pirates Lair, where Allwardt lived, is a cluster of eight homes surrounding a short dead-end gravel road. It's the type of place where strangers, and strange cars, usually draw notice. But neighbors said they didn't notice whoever shot Allwardt that late summer weekend.

Mixon said the investigators' person of interest is not a local.

"There are different angles that we're pursuing," she said.

rsilk@keysnews.com