A body has been found on the property in Costa Rica where a missing woman from Miami Beach had been staying, authorities said Monday.
The body was found in the back of the Airbnb property where Carla Stefaniak had been staying, officials with Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department said.
Officials haven’t confirmed that the body is Stefaniak. They said the body had been half buried with plastic bags over it and was discovered by dogs.
Stefaniak has been missing for nearly a week after not returning from a vacation in Costa Rica. She was scheduled to return home last Wednesday, but has not been heard from since speaking with her family late Tuesday night.
The 36-year-old who lives in Miami Beach was on a trip with her sister-in-law for Stefaniak’s birthday. Her sister-in-law returned to the United States on Tuesday.
Stefaniak’s brother, Mario Caicedo, drove from Orlando to Miami to speak with FBI agents on the case while other family members have flown to Costa Rica to help in the search.
Mario Caicedo told NBC 6 sister station Telemundo 51 that investigators in Costa Rica believe Stefaniak was kidnapped because she checked in for her flight but never boarded. FBI officials have not confirmed that information.
Stefaniak’s father, Carlos Caicedo, was traveling to Costa Rica on Monday. He also believed she had been kidnapped.
“She is kidnapped over there, not disappeared. She was kidnapped,” he told Telemundo 51.
Stefaniak, who last posted on her social media page Monday, was staying in San Jose at the time, at the Airbnb Villa Buena Vista.
Source : Nbcnewyork
