Upon hearing news a body had been found around an Airbnb villa where 36-year-old Carla Stefaniak was staying, her family amplified the call: We need answers.
What they’re hearing now isn’t enough.
“Every single hour they are waiting is a tremendous amount of stress on the family,” friend Bugra Demirel told 10News.
Several media outlets, citing Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department, reported Monday the finding of a body near the vacation property. It was found partially buried and inside plastic outside of San Jose, Costa Rica, CBS Miami confirmed.
Authorities said an autopsy would be performed to identify the body.
Stefaniak’s family traveled to Costa Rica to help make an identification. They visited the morgue at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and were not able to see her, Demirel said.
Demirel said everyone is wondering why the process to perform an autopsy is taking so long. Mario Caicedo, Stefaniak's brother, earlier told 10News the family remained optimistic the body is not her.
Stefaniak's family last heard from her at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, increasingly growing concerned when she didn’t show up for a 1 p.m. flight back to Broward County, Florida, the following day. Her sister-in-law, April Burton, told CBS News the last text she received from Stefaniak was: “It’s pretty sketchy here.”
Her family has since contended she might have been kidnapped.
10News reporter Grady Trimble contributed to this report.
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