Body found in Robeson Co. while FBI was following leads in search for Hania Aguilar
ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. -- FBI Agents and Lumberton Police Department detectives found a body in Robeson County Tuesday afternoon while "following leads related to the search for 13-year-old Hania Aguilar," according to an FBI spokesperson.
The body was found along Wire Grass Road. The FBI said Tuesday night that the body has been removed from the scene and is on the way to the state crime lab in Raleigh for identification and an autopsy. There is no time frame for when a positive identification will be made.
That's one of the roads where the FBI had previously asked the public for surveillance video to help piece together information about the teen's disappearance.
"The body has not been positively identified, but investigators with the FBI, Lumberton PD, the SBI, and the Robeson County Sheriff's Office were following leads related to the search for 13-year-old Hania Aguilar when the discovery was made," FBI spokesperson Shelley Lynch said in a statement.
"Out of an abundance of caution," Hania's family has been told of the discovery, the FBI said, though the agency again stressed that no confirmation has been made of the identity of the body found.
"We don't know for sure if it's Hania," the missing teen's aunt, Emy Moscoso, told WTVD, ABC7 Chicago's sister station in North Carolina, on Tuesday night. "We hope it's not her, and that she's still alive."
Robeson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Shanita Wooten said on social media that she and Lumberton Junior High School Principal Dr. SaVon Maultsby "received word of the potentially tragic conclusion to the search by Sergeant Pete Locklear of the Lumberton Police Department. Upon receiving full confirmation, the district will provide increased support staff that will be made available for all students and staff at Lumberton Junior High School. This is an unfortunate end to an extensive search and we are committed to supporting all students and staff as they cope with the heartbreaking tragedy.
"On behalf of PSRC district leaders, administrators, staff and students, we extend our sincerest condolences to Hania's family, friends, and community. This is a difficult time for our entire district and we are mourning this loss and are still processing this terrible tragedy. We are keeping Hania in our thoughts and will continue to pray for her family and each other as the investigation continues."
On Monday, Nov. 5, the teen was forced into a stolen, green SUV while she was outside of her Lumberton home at Rosewood Mobile Home Park off East Elizabethtown Road.
Witnesses said a man wearing all black and a yellow bandanna forced Hania into the vehicle before driving off.
Days later, police located the stolen Ford Expedition on Quincey Drive.
A $30,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to the location of Hania or information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for kidnapping Hania.
This is a developing story, check back for new details.
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