A body believed to be that of a missing Mashpee teenager was found in a field in Fellsmere, Florida on Wednesday, according to officials.
Although the body is believed to belong to 18-year-old Jalajhia Finklea, an autopsy will be conducted on Friday to confirm and to determine the cause and manner of the woman’s death, according to Bristol District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III. At this time, it is believed to be a homicide.
An investigation into Finklea’s Oct. 20 disappearance led investigators to Florida, where U.S. Marshals were able to make contact with 37-year-old Luis Zaragoza, who was wanted in connection with her disappearance.
On Nov. 5, Zaragoza died during a confrontation with law enforcement officials who were trying to arrest him in a McDonald’s parking lot in Crestview.
Finklea was last seen in New Bedford getting into Luis Zaragoza’s vehicle, which investigators learned he recently rented from Logan Airport in Boston.
Her cellphone was last used to call Zaragoza shortly before she got into his car and was later found on the side of Route 140 in New Bedford about 5 miles away.
Surveillance footage captured Zaragoza traveling between Texas and Florida over the course of the next two weeks, but none of the footage contained images of Finklea.
An investigation into the matter remains ongoing.
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