Eighteen-year-old Jesus Trejo had been missing since Tuesday. His blue Honda Civic had been discovered empty in the remote area of Ingraham Highway and SW 232nd Avenue in South Miami-Dade.
Yesterday, divers found a body in an Everglades canal near that general area and have now confirmed it is that of Trejo.
The Miami-Dade Police Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Sweetwater Police Department collaborated on the search, which included K-9 units, air support, and divers.
The gruesome discovery was made around 10:30 last night. An autopsy confirmed the remains were indeed those of Trejo.
According to WSVN, Trejo's family noticed he had gone missing when he failed to show up at school Wednesday morning. He had been attending a mechanics' institute. They were able to locate his car, but after their own search yielded no results, they contacted authorities.
"He just told us that he was going to meet somebody out here. I don't know for what," Angie Rodriguez, Trejo's aunt, told the station. "We haven't seen him since. We got worried like around 12 o'clock. We haven't heard from him, and then today we started calling everybody, and we still haven't heard from him."
Though police initially did not expect foul play, the case is now considered an active homicide investigation. However, no keys were found in the car nor footprints around it.
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