The Lee County Sheriff's Office said Monday afternoon that remains found in the Caloosahatchee River are likely those of a missing Fort Myers woman, Arielle Valdes.
Searchers in Collier County meanwhile continued looking for a missing Golden Gate Estates man, Eduardo Ramirez, 64, whose vehicle was found in a remote area off Beck Boulevard in East Naples. Searchers in Collier and Lee counties continued efforts Sunday to find a man and a woman in separate missing persons cases.
On the Lee County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, the agency said it had continued the search earlier Monday morning for the 21-year-old Valdes.
Shortly after 1:30 Monday, the Sheriff's Office said: "A short time ago, members of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office located remains of a female while conducting a search along the Caloosahatchee River in North Fort Myers. The remains are presumed to be of missing 21-year-old, Arielle Valdes."
Sheriff's Office assets that had been used included various marine vessels, aviation, multiple drones, K9’s, the Forensics Division for purposes of utilizing our ANDE rapid DNA device, as well as the Major Crimes Unit.
The Sheriff's Office alert said that "preliminarily, there is no evidence to indicate that foul play was involved. Our Major Crimes Unit has communicated with the family to provide the most recent update. We will work with the District 21 Medical Examiner’s Office for the remainder of the investigation."
Detectives confirmed Valdes left her residence on Wednesday, August 28, on foot at approximately 6:30 p.m. to go for a run.
Street camera footage showed the avid runner southbound on U.S. 41 from Pondella Road in North Fort Myers by her neighborhood at 6:45 p.m. that evening.
Additionally, cameras captured her running southbound by the Edison Bridge shortly after 6:50 p.m.
On Sunday, more rescue units joined the search in Collier County for a missing Golden Gate Estates man whose vehicle was found in a remote area off Beck Boulevard in East Naples.
The Collier County Sheriff's Office said deputies are actively looking for Eduardo Ramirez, 64, in that area.
On Sunday, Peace River Search and Rescue joined the searchers.
A Sheriff's Office public information officer said CCSO's Incident Management Team staged Saturday morning with teams comprised of CCSO, Fire and EMS, Forestry, and FWC personnel.
Searchers headed out on several swamp buggies into the Picayune Strand State Forest near where Ramirez’ vehicle was last seen. Aviation was also continuing to assist in the search today as conditions allow.
Multiple units, including aviation, mounted patrol and K9 were involved in the search.
An alert issued by the Sheriff's Office said family members were concerned about him. They asked that anyone with information about Ramirez or who had seen him should contact CCSO at 239-252-9300.
Ramirez was last known to be traveling in the area of Collier Boulevard and Magnolia Pond Circle at around 6:15 p.m. Thursday.
Deputies described him as 5 feet 6 inches tall and 180 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He is heavily tattooed with two full sleeves on his arms. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a dark colored polo shirt.
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