Medical Examiner's Office confirmed findings Tuesday night
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The bodies of Claudia (Pena) Alvarez (pictured) and Nicolas Alvarez have been found, NCIS investigators reported Tuesday. PHOTO/OSCEOLA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
Military investigators Tuesday confirmed the remains discovered in a wooded area of Osceola County are those of a couple reported missing earlier in the month.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigators said the remains, which were discovered in a wooded area on Saturday, are of Claudia (Pena) Alvarez, 25, and Nicolas Alvarez, 23. The Orange/Osceola County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that ID Tuesday evening. The cause and manner of death are still pending, the Sheriff's Office said.
The two were originally reported missing to the Kissimmee Police Department. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, who took over the investigation, said a 2009 Nissan Sentrabelonging to Pena was found Friday morning at a nearby construction site; OCSO has yet to reveal that location, or any other information into the case, such as if it was a murder-suicide.
The couple had last been seen on April 7 outside Pena’s mother’s home; Pena had picked up Alvarez from the airport the day prior, the family says.
Prior to Tuesday, Sheriff’s detectives said some of the clothing on the remains found in the wooded area “were consistent with the clothing of the missing person.”
The Sheriff’s Office also said the incident appears isolated, “with no outstanding threats to the public,” and asks anyone with information related to the case to call the Sheriff’s Office at (407) 348-2222.
