The body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto was found Friday in a wooded area in Osceola County, Florida, days after she went missing, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to FOX News Digital.
Her body was discovered by an Osceola County Sheriff’s Office search team around 4:30 p.m. local time.
According to the ministry, no other information is being released at this time.
Earlier Friday, authorities said at a news conference that they were “confident” that Madeline had died less than a week after she went missing.
Madeline Soto disappearance: Boyfriend of missing Florida teen mother arrested, named ‘prime suspect’
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that Madeline Soto did not come to school on February 26, but that she was “dead at that time, and we believe that Stephen Stearns moved her body earlier that day.” ” announced. (Orange County Sheriff’s Office)
Kissimmee police detectives delivered “extremely shocking news” to Madeline’s mother Thursday night, Sheriff John Mina said. “Madeline has not been found, but we are confident that she is deceased.” .
Mina said the case was turned into a homicide investigation after she disappeared after failing to show up for school on Monday.
He said Madeline did not come to school on February 26, adding: “Rather, we believe that she was already dead at that point and that Stephen Stearns had moved her body earlier that day. ” he said.
Stearns is the boyfriend of Madeline’s mother, Jen Soto, and is now the main suspect in the case. Stearns was arrested Wednesday on unrelated sexual assault charges, Kissimmee Police Chief Betty Holland said.
He is being held in the Osceola County Jail.
“Our priority at this time is to recover Madeline,” Holland said. “We continue to ask for the community’s assistance in this matter.”
Mina watched footage of Stearns throwing items into a trash can at a Kissimmee apartment complex around 7:30 a.m. that day before detectives discovered Madeline’s laptop and backpack inside the trash can. He said investigators have evidence.
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Stephen Stearns, 37, has been named the “prime suspect” in the investigation into the disappearance of his girlfriend’s 13-year-old daughter, Madeline Soto. (Orange County Department of Corrections)
He said there was evidence the Stearns returned to the apartment complex after 8 a.m. that morning, adding: “We saw Madeline in the car. By that point we knew she was already dead. I’m thinking about it,” he said.
He noted that there was still “a lot of information” that could not be released yet.
Madeline’s mother is not a suspect in this case.
Holland said Stearns was seen driving a silver 2010 Lincoln MKZ with Florida tag IYLL82 near Kissimmee on Monday and may have had a flat tire. .
Mina said the investigation began in Orange County, but the Kissimmee Police Department has taken over as the lead agency.
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Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Vasquez said in a statement Friday that she was “heartbroken” to hear the news.
“I am heartbroken to hear from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office of the tragic death of our precious student Madeline Soto,” she said, according to FOX 5. “My thoughts and prayers go out to Maddie’s family and her school community. “The birth of a child so suddenly and tragically is extremely difficult, especially for family and friends. Counselors will continue to be available to students and staff as they deal with the news. We ask that the entire Hunters Creek Middle School community keep us in your prayers as we grieve the loss of what was ours. ”
