The body of a missing mother was located in Wimauma on Wednesday, according to her family.
The Tampa Police Department said they located a body believed to be 34-year-old Sylvia Pagan, who was reported missing on Sunday evening, but an identification of the body was pending confirmation from the Medical Examiner’s Office, which is also working to confirm her cause of de*ath.
Pagan’s family confirmed her de*ath in a GoFundMe post. They’re looking to raise funds to help her family “plan a funeral [they] never thought [they] would have to plan.”
“My Nieces and Nephews have experienced a trauma that no child should have to experience, the loss of their mother. My Sister was the SOLE provider for her household and with her loss it left us to pick up the pieces. She left behind 4 children and now not only do we have to plan a funeral we never thought we would have to plan but we have to take care of my nieces and nephews,”.
Investigators said 38-year-old Jovanni Caceres Steffani was the only person of interest in the case, but he took his own life. No one else is believed to be involved.
“This is not the outcome anyone wanted,” said Chief Lee Bercaw. “We send our condolences to Syliva’s loved ones, but most importantly her daughter Briana during this unimaginable loss.”
The Tampa-based nonprofit “We Are The Essentials” told 8 On Your Side they discovered Pagan’s body on Surona Road.
“So we were on scene for about 15 minutes and we made the tragic discovery of what we believe was her body,” group member Billy Lane said. “It was located next to the road in a ravine. It was covered.”
“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,” the group said on Facebook:
Lane said they were also the ones who shared the heartbreaking news with Sylvia Pagan’s family.
“They were absolutely traumatized,” Lane said. “They were grieving. Nothing that we would not have expected from any family member. Our hearts went out to them.”
We also spoke with the family who lives in Wimauma, near where the body was found. The Garcia’s said they were shocked when they put the pieces together, and to find out her body was in their quiet, secluded neighborhood.
“It was scary but really like a feeling of sadness to know that she was so close and we were just going on with our days without even knowing that she was so close to us,” the Garcia’s said.
The investigation is still ongoing.
