Police in Florida have discovered a body that is believed to be that of a woman who was reported to have been abducted earlier this week, along with her daughter. This development was reported by CBS News affiliate WTSP.
Sylvia Pagan, a 34-year-old woman, was last spotted in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday morning, according to WTSP. The Tampa Police Department has released a “Missing & Endangered Alert” for Pagan, providing details that she is a 5’3 woman weighing approximately 155 pounds.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an Amber Alert for Briana, Pagan’s 9-year-old daughter, at 1 a.m. local time on Monday.
According to a news release by the Tampa police, it is their belief that Briana may have been accompanied by Pagan and Jovanni Caceres Steffani, who is referred to as a “person of interest.”
According to WTSP, investigators suspect that Steffani and Pagan spent the night together at Pagan’s Tampa residence before departing the next morning. WTSP reported that no evidence of harm to anyone was found at the house, and there were no records of domestic violence calls to the address.
Around 2 a.m. in the local time, approximately an hour after the issuance of the Amber Alert, authorities state that Steffani was discovered deceased in Suwannee County with a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.” This location is roughly 200 miles north of Tampa. According to WTSP, law enforcement had approached him at a hotel.
According to WTSP, Briana was discovered unharmed at the location, as she had already left the hotel prior to Steffani’s tragic demise.
Pagan’s whereabouts continued to remain unknown even after the Amber Alert for Briana was rescinded. Law enforcement expressed their deep concern for her overall well-being.
The medical examiner’s office is currently in the process of confirming the identity of the remains and investigating the cause of death, as reported by WTSP.
Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw expressed his condolences in a statement to WTSP, acknowledging that the outcome was not what anyone had hoped for. He extended his sympathies to Sylvia’s loved ones, particularly her daughter Briana, during this incredibly difficult time.
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