Body of woman missing for months believed to be found in vacant lot, Florida cops say
Nearly two months after a north Florida woman disappeared from her boyfriend’s home, deputies believe they’ve found her remains in a wooded, vacant lot, a Florida sheriff’s office said.
Angela Rodriguez, 33, was reported missing by her boyfriend Oct. 17 after he had left his home in DeFuniak Springs five days earlier and she was not there when he returned, according to an Oct. 25 news release from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office conducted multiple searches in the surrounding areas and used K-9 teams, but there was no trace of Rodriguez.
Investigative units also searched six bodies of water nearby but were unsuccessful, the sheriff’s office said in a Dec. 15 news release.
Teams extended their search northeast of her boyfriend’s home to a vacant wooded lot Dec. 14 and discovered skeletal remains, the sheriff’s office said.
“At this time, investigators believe the remains to belong to Angela Rodriguez,” the sheriff’s office said.
The investigation is ongoing, and the medical examiner’s office has yet to give a positive identification or release a cause of death.
The sheriff’s office did not release whether there was any evidence of foul play and did not say it was pursuing any potential suspects connected to the case.
“While this is not the outcome we hoped for, Angela’s family can now begin the process of grieving,” Sheriff Michael Adkinson said in the release. “I applaud the unrelenting effort of our investigators to bring closure to her loved ones.”
DeFuniak Springs is about 120 miles west of Tallahassee.
This story was originally published December 15, 2023 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Body of woman missing for months believed to be found in vacant lot, Florida cops say."
