Woman's Body Found Near 'Sketchy' Airbnb

A grim find has been made in the search for a Florida woman who was reported missing after she failed to return from a trip to Costa Rica. Officials with Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department say a woman's body was found at the back of the Airbnb property where 36-year-old Carla Stefaniak had been staying, NBC New York reports. The half-buried body, covered in plastic bags, was discovered by tracker dogs, authorities say. In her last text to a friend, Stefaniak complained that the power was going out and said "it's pretty sketchy here," reports the BBC. She had been visiting the country with her sister-in-law, who flew out a day earlier. Stefaniak never showed up for her flight home Wednesday.

Marlo Caicedo, one of Stefaniak's brothers, says all communication from her stopped around 9pm that night, which was extremely unusual because it was "her birthday and she loves to be on social media." He says the owner of the Airbnb told investigators a security guard saw her leave in a car at 5am, though her flight wasn't until 1:30pm. The body has not yet been identified, and Caicedo says he is sure his sister is still alive. "Sincerely, I didn’t feel bad or scared because I have so much positivity and so much faith that it’s not my sister," he tells CBS Miami. "We're just waiting for the confirmation that it isn’t her from the authorities." Stefaniak's sister-in-law has started a GoFundMe fundraiser to raise money for the search. (More Costa Rica stories.)