TAMPA, Fla. — Family members have confirmed that the body police found Wednesday night in Wimauma is Sylvia Pagan, a mother who was reportedly abducted along with a 9-year-old girl earlier this week.
The 34-year-old is remembered as "an amazing mom" to her four children, her sister wrote on a GoFundMe page for the family.
"My Nieces and Nephews have experienced a trauma that no child should have to experience, the loss of their mother. My Sister was the SOLE provider for her household and with her loss it left us to pick up the pieces," she wrote.
According to the family, the money raised will be used to pay for Pagan's burial and support her children going forward.
"She didn't deserve what happened to her. We want to give my sister the funeral she deserves and the proper burial," Sylvia's sister wrote.
Pagan was last seen at 10 a.m. Sunday on Altman Street near East Bougainvillea Avenue in Tampa.
Investigators say Pagan and a 9-year-old girl were kidnapped by 38-year-old Jovanni Steffani, who reportedly shot and killed himself after deputies confronted him at a hotel in north central Florida. The 9-year-old girl was found safe and released from the hotel room before Steffani grabbed the gun, according to police.
Police said their investigation led them to believe Steffani and Pagan spent Saturday night together and left the home the following morning.
While examining the house, investigators said there was no evidence to indicate Pagan had been hurt there. They also said there was no history of domestic violence at that address.
"This is not the outcome anyone wanted," Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement. "We send our condolences to Sylvia's loved ones, but most importantly her daughter Briana during this unimaginable loss."
The medical examiner's office is still working to determine a cause of death.
In their GoFundMe page, Pagan's family thanked "We Are The Essentials," a non-profit made up of former law enforcement officers and military service members who search for missing people.
"...Because of you all my sister was found," they wrote of the non-profit.
Billy Lane, an investigator with "We Are The Essentials," told 10 Tampa Bay they found Pagan's body in a ditch off the side of the road covered by a blue child's pool.
The clothing and shoes on the body matched the description Pagan's family provided, according to Lane.
"Pray for the family. They're going through a lot right now," Lane said.