JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 14-year-old boy is in custody on a second-degree murder charge in the death of Tristyn Bailey, St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick said during a news conference Monday morning.
The suspect is being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice. He is an eighth-grader at Patriot Oaks Academy, the same school where Bailey, 13, attended seventh grade.
Hardwick said the investigation is in the "very beginning stages" and did not release any details related to Bailey's death, including the cause of death or how Bailey and the suspect may have been linked.
Bailey was last seen around 1:15 a.m. Sunday at the Durbin Amenity Center in the northwest community of Durbin Crossing, authorities said. The sheriff's office deployed numerous resources and began searching the immediate area. Her body was located by a resident in a remote wooded area near a pond at around 6 p.m. Sunday, Hardwick said.
Bailey was found clothed but the medical examiner's office is still investigating the cause of death, Hardwick said.
The 14-year-old is the only suspect in the case at this time, however the investigation is still ongoing, according to Hardwick, adding that the sheriff's office was still in the process of interviewing potential witnesses and other sources.
Bailey’s family reported her missing to police around 10 a.m. Sunday after last seeing her at approximately midnight the night before.
Bailey, a cheerleader for the Infinity AllStars and the Patriot Oaks Chargers, was last seen wearing her cheer outfit.
The sheriff's office issued a Florida Missing Child Alert and family, neighbors and deputies searched for the teen Sunday until the body was discovered by a man jogging near his home early Sunday evening.
The suspect was taken into custody overnight, according to Hardwick.
On Monday morning, multiple crime scenes, including two residences, could be seen marked off with yellow police tape across the residential community, which Hardwick said had been essential in providing information leading to the arrest.
"This community helped solve the case, this community," Hardwick said. "This community went to work. ... We saw moms and families out walking the woodline in clothes like church clothes yesterday."
Hardwick added there are a lot of rumors floating around on social media, but that his team is following up on any and every potential lead.
More charges could be added or upgraded in consultation with the State Attorney’s Office.
School district spokeswoman Christina Langston said Patriot Oaks Academy had crisis counseling available onsite and that many students and staff wore the color white on Monday in honor of Bailey.
Said Hardwick: "Tristyn is not coming home. She is not coming back to school. People there loved her."
In an email Monday afternoon, Patriot Oaks principal Allison Olson acknowledged the impact the tragedy had on the entire school community, saying: "We now have two families that are devastated and heartbroken."
A candlelight vigil for Bailey was planned Monday evening.
