Remains have been located in Florida that police have tentatively identified as belonging to Gannon Stauch, a missing 11-year-old Colorado boy, the El Paso County Sheriff of Colorado announced.
Prior to the discovery, Gannon, who was reported missing Jan. 27, had been presumed dead.
His stepmother, Letecia “Tecia” Stauch, was arrested in early March on murder, child abuse and tampering charges in connection with his death.
Authorities have not revealed details about what evidence they allegedly have against Stauch, and a motive has not been publicly discussed. A tweet from the sheriff announcing the discovery of the remains states, “There is a gag order in effect for this case so we cannot go into any details.”
A press release from the El Paso County Sheriff says the office was contacted by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office in Florida after that office responded to a call about a deceased juvenile male in Pace. After an autopsy, the remains were tentatively identified as Gannon’s.
The press release indicates Stauch may have been in Florida from Feb. 3 to 5.
“This past Tuesday, a work crew from the Florida Department of Transportation was working Highway 90, near the Escambia River Bridge. They found a body and contacted us,” Sgt. Rich Aloy of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, in Florida, tells PEOPLE.
“It is a long bridge — [the body] was along the side of the bridge, but not in the water. We don’t know when the body was placed there,” Aloy says.
The remains were found approximately between 9 and 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aloy says, and the cause of death is still undetermined.
Initial reports from the sheriff’s office described Gannon as a “runaway,” but on January 30, the agency’s social media posts shifted to describe him as missing and endangered.
Human remains found in Florida tentatively identified as Gannon Stauch: https://t.co/VtRK8gM3CJ. There is a gag order in effect for this case so we cannot go into any details. #GannonStauch pic.twitter.com/2dcD1mdV6k
The boy’s disappearance shook the bedroom community of Fountain where Gannon lived with his father, stepmother and siblings.
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After Stauch’s arrest, Gannon’s father, Eugene Albert Stauch initiated divorce proceedings against her, according to online court records obtained by PEOPLE.
Stauch is being held without bond, according to jail records. She has not yet entered pleas to the charges she faces.
Her attorney, Kathryn Strobel, has not returned PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Authorities ask anyone who saw Letecia Stauch in Pace or Pensacola, Florida, from Feb. 3 to 5 to contact the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 719-520-6666 or email tips@elpasoco.com.
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