The Orange County Sheriff’s office announced on Friday that they found the body of missing Florida teenager Madeline Soto. The search teams from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office discovered the 13-year-old’s body at 4:30 p.m. local time in a wooded area off Hickory Tree Road. The sheriff’s statement confirmed that the teen’s family has been informed about the discovery.
Earlier in the day, Sheriff John Mina stated that they are now certain Soto is deceased. She was last seen on February 26 around 8:30 a.m. wearing a green sweatshirt, black shorts, and white Crocs shoes.
On Wednesday, authorities arrested Stephan Sterns, the boyfriend of Soto’s mother, for sexual battery and possessing child sexual abuse material. Sterns, aged 37, was the last person seen with her. Investigators found troubling images on his phone, described as criminal and sexual. They also discovered attempts to delete evidence from the phone’s data.
Stephan Sterns is currently held in custody at Osceola County Corrections on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to jail records.
