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LCSO: Remains of missing teen Ivan Aguilar found in Tallahassee

Leon County Deputies still searching for missing Tallahassee teen
Ivan Aguilar
Leon County Deputies still searching for missing Tallahassee teen
Posted at 5:50 PM, Aug 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-13 14:51:45-04

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Leon County Sheriff's Office confirms they have found the remains of Ivan Aguilar, a Tallahassee teen who's been missing for more than three years.

LCSO detectives confirmed last week that remains found in August 2017, are those of missing juvenile, Ivan Aguilar. A positive identification was made through DNA.

The sheriff's office say it took a year for a couple of reasons.

"First they were sent to the University of Florida for testing. From there we had to turn around and send them to the University of Texas, because I did collect DNA from the Mother, Father, and a brother, so then from there, they do collect a DNA profile," said Sgt. Teresa Howard with the Leon County Sheriff's Office. "The bones what they extracted from the bones they were able to then turn around and compare them to that profile."

Fifteen year old Aguilar was reported missing on May 8, 2014 by his parents. Last year, bones were found in the woods near Highway 20 and Whippoorwill Drive, about 10 miles from his home.

Deputies say the break in the case is bittersweet for the family. 

"There is a lot of grief there. At the moment they are very.... at one end there is closure for them and on the other end it is obviously very difficult to accept it, because they still had hope that he was alive and one day would come home," said Sgt. Howard. 

Foul play is not suspected in his death. LCSO says Aguilar’s family is requesting privacy during this difficult time.


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Leon County Sheriff's Office is giving us an update on the continued search for a teenage boy that's been missing for three years, as today commemorates National Missing Children's Day.

According to the FBI, in 2016 there were 465,000 entries for missing children, and more than 90 percent are endangered runaways.

In March of this year, the Sheriff's Office conducted a dogs and drones search for Ivan Aguilar.

Aguilar was 15 years old when he left his family's home on an orange and black bicycle back in May 2014. Aguilar is now 18-years-old.

He is described as a Hispanic boy, around 5 foot 8 inches tall, weighing around 140 pounds.

LCSO's Lieutenant Grady Jordan says if anyone has leads on this on-going investigation, to contact them immediately.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has started a social media campaign called #Rock1Sock to show a simple way to support what missing children and their families are going through.