TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Police located the body of a woman believed to be Sylvia Pagan on Wednesday in the Wimauma area with the help of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
TPD said the 34-year-old woman was last seen on Sunday morning near the 10400 block of Altman Street.
Then, around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, the Suwanee County Sheriff's Office was contacted by a detective from a Florida Police Department about a kidnapped child, later determined to be Pagan's nine-year-old daughter. The detective said the girl was taken by Pagan's boyfriend, prompting the Amber Alert.
Deputies then arrived at a motel at the intersection of CR 136 and I-75, where they confirmed that the suspect, Jovanni Caceres Steffani, 38, and the child had checked in. After entering the room, deputies said they found Steffani and the child.
According to the sheriff's office, deputies were able to rescue the girl and move her to safety, but Steffani refused to surrender and "began threatening to shoot himself."
Deputies said they attempted to reason with Steffani for over an hour. Tampa Police said Steffani then produced a handgun and shot himself in the head. He was given emergency aid but died from his injuries.
Officials said that Steffani was the only person of interest in Pagan's disappearance. There were no other subjects believed to be involved, according to police.
On Wednesday afternoon, ABC Action News was on scene for several hours in Wimauma off Surona Road alongside "We Are The Essentials," a group that often searches for missing people.
Billy Lane with We Are The Essentials said the family asked them to come out and help with the search.
“Based on the information provided by the family, they believe that the suspect, who’s deceased now, lived in a trailer located on the property just to our left," said Lane on Wednesday. “We located human remains. It was located in a ditch about 600 yards from the alleged trailer. We believe that this will be connected to Sylvia.”
Later Wednesday night, Tampa Police confirmed officials located a body believed to be Pagan in the Wimauma area.
ABC Action News asked Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw about the search efforts on Thursday.
“That area is an area we were looking. It's a two-mile square area, so this is a very large area, and we had cadaver dogs, we had bloodhounds out there. We even had our air service with our infrared camera out there, and no, we did not see Sylvia out there at that time," said Bercaw. "Someone else found them. I’m not sure who, but we were called back by the sheriff’s office."
Tampa Police said positive identification is pending confirmation from the Medical Examiner's Office, which will also determine the official cause of death.
In the meantime, Pagan's family set up a fundraiser to help support her children.
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