SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida medical examiner has tentatively identified the remains of a young boy found near Pensacola Wednesday as 11-year-old Gannon Stauch.
Stauch was last seen on Jan. 27. His stepmom – the last person believed to have seen him alive – was arrested in connection to the boy’s murder earlier this month.
Letecia Stauch was taken into custody in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, following weeks of searches in El Paso County and southern Douglas County, Colorado.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office did not say how Gannon is believed to have died. Earlier, investigators said they did not believe the boy was alive.
RELATED: 'My little boy is not coming home': Stepmom of Gannon Stauch arrested on first-degree murder charge
Anyone who has seen Letecia Stauch in Pace or Pensacola, Florida between Feb. 3-5 is asked to call the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 719-520-6666, according to a Facebook post.
New charges have been filed against Letecia Stauch following the discovery of Gannon Stauch's body. She is now charged with 13 counts:
- First-degree murder after deliberation
- First-degree murder of a person under 12 who is in a position of trust
- Child abuse resulting in death
- Tampering with a deceased human body
- Tampering with physical evidence
- Seven counts crime of violence - used weapon (the weapons listed in the complaint include a firearm, blunt object and sharp object).
- One count of crime of violence - causing severe body injury or death
During a news conference on Friday afternoon, the Fourth Judicial District Attorney's Office would not provide many new details about the case, or give details about what, exactly, prompted the new charges.
According to law enforcement, Letecia Stauch last saw her 11-year-old stepson at his home in Lorson Ranch between 3:15 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Jan. 27.
She told the El Paso County Sheriff's Office the boy was going to a friend's house. No one has seen him alive since.
On that same day, a neighbor captured surveillance video, which appears to show Gannon getting into a truck. The neighbor told KRDO, our sister station in Colorado Springs, the truck belongs to Letecia Stauch. Investigators with EPCSO haven't commented on the video except to say it's part of their investigation.
Investigators have not said what evidence led them to arrest Letecia Stauch, and court documents in the case remain sealed.
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