Missing Florida mother’s body believed to be found in Wimauma after suspected abductor found dead: TPD
TAMPA, Fla. - Authorities believe they've found the body of a Tampa mother who was still missing after her suspected abductor was found dead earlier this week.
The Tampa Police Department said they found a body in Wimauma on Wednesday believed to be Sylvia Pagan's with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's assistance. The Medical Examiner's Office is now working to confirm that it is Pagan as well as the official cause of death, officers said.
"This is not the outcome anyone wanted," said Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw. "We send our condolences to Sylvia's loved ones, but most importantly her daughter Briana during this unimaginable loss."
The search for Sylvia began after 9-year-old Briana Pagan became the subject of an AMBER Alert issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Monday morning. Both of them vanished from the 10400 block of Altman Street in Tampa around 10 a.m. on Sunday, according to investigators.
That alert was later canceled after the child was found safe at a hotel in Suwannee County. But, they were believed to be with Jovanni Caceres Steffani, who police considered a person of interest in their disappearances.
Law enforcement officials said shortly after they got the 9-year-old out of the hotel, he went into the bathroom, retrieved a gun and took his own life. Police said that deputies on the scene tried to talk with Steffani for about an hour before he shot himself.
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Caceres Steffani was the only person of interest in Sylvia's disappearance, and Tampa police said they do not believe anyone else was involved. The department said they have since canceled the Missing and Endangered Alert for Sylvia after they found the body in Wimauma.
TPD said HCSO and the Pasco Sheriff's Office assisted in the case.
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