Girl Found Dead in the Woods Days after 13th Birthday — Suspect Caught on Camera with Her Backpack & Laptop

Thirteen-year-old Madeline Soto made a wish to live in a forest, and a week later, her body was found in the woods. With the main suspect being a Disney World worker, police launched an investigation into this fairy tale with a sad end.

On March 1, authorities reported the discovery of a teenager’s body off Hickory Tree Road in Osceola County around 4:30 p.m. The attire of the body closely matched what Madeline, a missing 13-year-old girl, was wearing when she was last seen.

On February 26, the day after her 13th birthday, Madeline was supposed to be dropped off at school by her mom’s boyfriend, Stephan Sterns. Everything seemed normal until Madeline’s mom came to pick her up from school at 4:30 p.m., only to discover that her daughter had not shown up that morning.

The mother immediately reached out to the police, and by 8 p.m. that same day, she had reported Madeline missing. Deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office quickly arrived at the school to assist the worried mother. Together, they searched the surrounding area with a trained bloodhound, but were unsuccessful.

By February 27, Madeline’s missing poster became public. A picture of a young blonde girl smiling at the camera was paired with cold facts, the parameters of the girl — 5’1″ in height and 110 pounds in weight. She was described as a White, blue-eyed female, barely 13 years old. As information was released, the Sheriff’s Office posted:

“Madeline was last seen around 8:30 a.m. Monday, February 26… She was wearing a green sweatshirt, black shorts, and white Crocs.”

The officials widened the search area, and the lookout continued. On Wednesday, February 28, the Sheriff gathered a press conference to release an update on the search for Madeline.

“This is every parent’s worst nightmare… We can’t even imagine the pain and anguish that Madeline’s family is going through,” stated Sheriff Mina. “We will not stop until we find her.”

The Sheriff explained that Madeline was left near Peace United Methodist Church on Town Loop Boulevard, approximately a half-mile from the school. Why the girl was dropped off at such a strange location was still up in the air.

Sheriff Mina suggested that Madeline might have been self-conscious about the car she was riding in and therefore requested to be dropped off by her mother’s boyfriend at a specific location, so her classmates wouldn’t see her. However, it was just a guess, and the sheriff’s office is investigating it further.

As a part of the investigation, authorities are interviewing people close to Madeline — her mother, her mother’s boyfriend, and friends from school. More than a hundred people were mobilized to help in the search for...