03/31/2024
Oh prayers and condolences to Kelly’s family 🙏🏼
⚠️⚠️⚠️ We are deeply saddened to report that Kelly Marie Vasquez’s remains were found and confirmed through DNA by police. Her remains were discovered in a rural area of Polk County.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to her Mom, Dad, Grandmother, friends and family. 💔 Taken too soon, Kelly will not be forgotten and Justice will be served.
🔴 Sunshine State Sonar participated in multiple ground and water searches for Kelly throughout 2022 and 2023. We assisted We Are The Essentials and QRF K9 SAR in the search.
This is an ongoing and active investigation. No further information at this time.

💔The details of Kelly’s disappearance are below:
Kelly was last seen in Valrico, Florida on May 23, 2021. She left her family's home at about 8:00 or 9:00 am with a man she was dating, after telling her grandmother she'd be back that afternoon. She left her makeup, extra clothing and hygiene products behind, and never returned home.
Kelly sent a cryptic last text message from her phone, before it was turned off, to a friend saying “they’re taking me to the middle of nowhere, and I feel very uncomfortable”.
The next day, Vazquez's grandmother got a text from her phone saying she was headed home. She never arrived. This is the last time anyone heard from her. The man she left her grandmother's house with said he last saw her on May 24 and dropped her off at a friend's house.
In June, a person came forward with Vazquez's two iPhones, one of which was an older model with no service and the other of which she had been using at the time of her disappearance. The person who had them said they got them after someone tried to sell the phones to the person's daughter. Both phones had been reset to factory settings and the SIM card was missing from one of them. Neither of them could be activated because they'd been reported as stolen.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation on May 29, 2021 but a sheriff’s office spokesperson said they could not share many details, “as this is still a very active case.”
That agency did confirm the investigation has led detectives to Keysville, an unincorporated area near Lithia. Spokesperson Amanda Granit said both the sheriff’s office and private search parties have been involved in the effort to find Vazquez.
