LAKELAND - Polk County deputies said remains unearthed from a back yard Friday are likely those of a 16-year-old girl who disappeared in 1999.
Deputies began digging two days ago after receiving information that the body of Racheal Ann Martina might be buried in the back yard of a jailed man accused of the fatal shooting of his brother.
Edward Romeo, 26, is "a person of interest" in the Martina case, said sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rogers. He has not been charged.
Martina, who knew the Romeo family, was serving time at a state boot camp for juvenile delinquents when she disappeared from a Department of Children and Families office after a supervised visit with her father in March 1999.
Sheriff's Maj. W.J. Martin said after Romeo was arrested in his 21-year-old brother's slaying Aug. 22, the Sheriff's Office received "compelling evidence" that the girl was buried in his back yard.
