Florida woman disappears on birthday vacation in Costa Rica
Family members are desperately searching for answers after a woman disappeared while on vacation.
Carla Stefaniak, 36, of Florida, was celebrating her birthday in Costa Rica with sister-in-law April Burton. Burton traveled home Tuesday, while Stefaniak planned to catch a flight Wednesday after staying in an Airbnb in Val Buena for a night.
In a text message to Burton on Tuesday, Stefaniak described the accommodation as “pretty sketchy,” according to CBS News.
Stefaniak’s family became concerned when she didn’t board her flight and stopped responding to messages on social media.
After talking with the Airbnb owner and an Uber driver, the family believes Stefaniak may have gotten into an unidentified car and left the area where she was staying. “Everything is gone — she left with everything on hand,” her brother Carlos Caicedo, who went to Costa Rica to retrace her steps, told local news station WFLA.
The family has set up a Facebook page, Finding Carla, in an effort to locate Stefaniak.
Friends have described Stefaniak as a “free spirit” and someone who “loved life.”
“Words cannot express how shocking and devastating this is to her family and her friends,” Burton wrote on Facebook. “If anyone can help us with this situation, it will be highly appreciated.”
According to WFLA, Costa Rican authorities have found evidence that Stefaniak was kidnapped.
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