Authorities in Florida had to deploy helicopters, ATVs, and drones to retrieve the body of a slain 18-year-old whose phone last pinged in a nature preserve.
The family of Charlie Roberts Jr. reported him missing on Tuesday and detectives located his phone signal somewhere in the 50,000 acres wooded and swampy forests.
On Wednesday night, Roberts was found dead in a swamp with apparent gunshot wounds. The following day, police arrested David Anthony Garcia on first-degree murder charges in his death.
“I want the person to be prosecuted to the fullest, of course,” Roberts’ cousin said. “This was a family member, a child, nobody deserves death.”
“What would cause you to want to kill a child? What did he do so wrong that it deserved death…and to be left where he was left at?”
Authorities did not determine a motive in the case. Garcia is being held without bail in Sumter County Detention Center.
