Body Of Missing Tampa Mother Possibly Found In Ravine: Report

TAMPA, FL — A body found Wednesday could potentially belong to missing Florida woman Sylvia Pagan, according to a nonprofit assisting her family and Tampa Police.

The 34-year-old woman and her daughter, 9-year-old Briana Pagan, disappeared from the 10400 block of Altman Street on Mother's Day, police said. Suspected kidnapper Jovanni Caceres Steffani, 38, was also missing.

The child was safely found Monday, but Tampa Police said Sylvia Pagan was not located.

"As a result of the (body's) discovery, the missing and endangered alert has been canceled," police said in a news release.

We Are the Essentials, a Tampa nonprofit which searches for people considered missing or endangered, said search and recovery investigators associated with the group found human remains that could belong to Sylvia Pagan around noon Wednesday in Wimauma.

Wimauma is a little more than an hour from Tampa.

Sylvia Pagan's family contacted We Are the Essentials and asked for assistance Monday morning, the nonprofit said in a Facebook post.

"Based on identifiers, we believe this was the body of Sylvia Pagan. While we believe this is likely Sylvia, we all should wait until the official identification from the medical examiner. This is an understandably tragic development. We pray our work in this case helps Sylvia’s family. There are few feelings worse than the desperate anxiety of not knowing. We are deeply saddened by this outcome and we join you all in keeping Sylvia’s family in your prayers," read the post.

Billy Lane, a We Are the Essentials group member, told WFLA's 8 On Your Side the body was found covered in a ravine near a roadway. The team had been on the scene for about 15 minutes before discovering the body, Lane said.

Police said Steffani was the sole suspect in Sylvia Pagan's disappearance. The medical examiner's office will determine an identification of the body and an official cause of death, police said.

Steffani's connection to the Pagans is unknown.

Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw expressed his sentiments in the release.

“This is not the outcome anyone wanted,” he said. “We send our condolences to Syliva’s loved ones, but most importantly her daughter, Briana, during this unimaginable loss.”

Before 2 a.m. Monday, Steffani was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Suwannee County, Tampa authorities said.

Briana Pagan was also located safely in Suwannee County and the Amber Alert was lifted earlier in the day. Suwannee County is roughly 80 miles west of Jacksonville.