Police find likely remains of missing UF student in Levy County

18-year-old Christian Aguilar missing since September 20

Christian Aguilar

LEVY COUNTY, Fla. – Authorities told the Gainesville Sun that they have found what appears to be the remains of missing University of Florida student Christian Aguilar off a rural dirt road in Levy County.

The Sun reported that a source close to the investigation confirmed that Aguilar's family has been notified of the discovery.

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Fred Oliver, a volunteer with the Levy County Sheriff's Office, told the Sun that hunters discovered a body around 2 p.m. Friday on the grounds of the Gulf Hammock Hunting Club — a private club with about 300 members.

The men found the remains eight miles off State Road 24 on Parker Boulevard, about six miles west of Otter Creek.

"Two young fellas were looking for firewood by themselves," Oliver said. "They picked up the scent, the odor of something dead."

Oliver said the young men thought they had stumbled onto the remains of a dead deer, and maybe they could get a set of antlers. What they found was a decomposed, partially buried body.

"It was obviously human," Oliver said, adding that it was near the dirt road.

The men called the Levy County Sheriff's Office, and Oliver said he got the call about the discovery at 2:30 p.m., with the Gainesville Police Department notified shortly thereafter.

Authorities said they found blue Vans shoes, duct tape and blue jeans with the decomposed remains.

While the clothes matched the description of what Aguilar was wearing the day he disappeared, a source close to the investigation said the remains still need to be identified through forensic methods. However, Oliver said authorities are almost positive of the findings.

"They're almost sure they know who it is," Oliver said.

In addition to the Levy County Sheriff's Office, GPD detectives, forensics, Florida Fish and Wildlife and the 8th District Medical Examiners Office responded to the scene. A caravan of more than seven vehicles could be seen departing on the dirt road at around 8 p.m.

Aguilar, 18, had been missing since September 20.

The case, which attracted national media attention, went from a disappearance to a fight and abandonment to a murder investigation.

Pedro Bravo's first appearance on his arrest earlier this week.

Pedro Bravo, 18, is in the Alachua County jail and recently was indicted on first-degree murder and kidnapping charges after police said he admitted beating Aguilar in a dispute over a girl and leaving him somewhere.

Aguilar was last seen with Bravo in a Best Buy store on September 20, police said. He was seen in a photo leaving the store wearing blue shoes and jeans.

Crews of volunteers and law enforcement from all over Florida have pitched in to search for Aguilar, but police recently stopped taking volunteers in the search because the mission had switched from a rescue to a recovery.

On Thursday night, concurrent candlelight vigils were held in Miami and Gainesville. Aguilar's body had not yet been recovered, and friends and family still clung to hope.

When asked about the incident late Friday night, GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said he knew it was going to be a bittersweet time for friends and family of Aguilar.

"While some people still hoped to find Christian alive, the unfortunate reality is going to sink in," Tobias said. "I'm glad the family is finally going to get some closure."