A suspect is in custody after investigators discovered the remains of a missing Georgia TikTok fitness star, who was last seen at a Walmart.
Minelys Zoe Rodriguez-Ramirez, 25, visited a Walmart in Cornelia on October 22 to meet someone interested in buying one of her photos. She was last seen entering the store around 9:30 p.m., according to local news outlet Now Habersham.
The last reported text Rodriguez-Ramirez sent was to her fiancé, Julio Tovor, stating, “I’m waiting for the brother to pick him up.” When she didn’t return home from her Walmart trip, her family reported her missing on October 23.
“It didn’t make sense,” Tovor told Now Habersham. “She doesn’t talk like that.”
A week later, her body was discovered on October 29 in a remote area near the Walmart by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations and Habersham County Sheriff’s Office. Her car was found parked just outside the Walmart lot, raising questions about whether she moved it herself or if it was relocated after her death.
GBI agents arrested Angel DeJesus Rivera-Sanchez, 24, in Atlanta on October 28 on kidnapping charges related to Rodriguez-Ramirez’s disappearance. They then took Rivera-Sanchez to the Habersham County Detention Center, where they booked him on the kidnapping charge.
While it remains unclear whether Rivera-Sanchez was the person buying the photo at Walmart or if it was a random attack, prosecutors will also charge him with murder in connection to Rodriguez-Ramirez’s death, according to the press release.
Newsweek contacted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which stated, “There are no new updates to report. The investigation is active and ongoing.”
The remains have been taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office, where a medical examiner will conduct an autopsy.
Newsweek reached out to the medical examiner’s office, however, they have not yet responded.
Minelys Zoe Rodriguez-Ramirez, known as “Mimi” to her friends and family, had over 40,000 followers on TikTok.
She was a mother to a 9-year-old daughter and moved to Georgia from Puerto Rico six years ago for a job opportunity. She accepted a position at a manufacturing company called Mount Vernon Mills Inc.
Newsweek reached out to Mount Vernon Mills Inc., however, they have not yet responded.
Rodriguez-Ramirez’s family plans to return her body to the U.S. island territory for burial, as stated on their GoFundMe page.
“We are raising funds for funeral expenses to take her to Puerto Rico and give her a Christian burial on the island where she was born,” Carmen Ramirez, her mother, said on GoFundMe. “Thank you in advance. God bless you.”
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