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Ex-Boyfriend in Missing Woman Case Dies: Deputies

Roy Ruz Blanco died after being located Tuesday in the Florida Keys with a self-inflicted stab wound.

The ex-boyfriend of a missing Miami woman has died, deputies said. Roy Ruz Blanco, 33, died after being located Tuesday afternoon in the Florida Keys with a self-inflicted stab wound.

Blanco was considered a person of interest in the disappearance of 28-year-old Tanya Gonzalez, who went missing a week ago, according to police.

Monroe County Sheriff's deputies said Blanco was being held at Lower Keys Hospital where doctors were trying to stabilize him before transporting him to Jackson Memorial Hospital. He died before he could be transported.

Deputies also said a woman they think is Blanco's mother was with him and also attempted suicide at the time he stabbed himself. The woman took an unknown number of pills and was taken to Lower Keys Hospital for treatment.

Police haven’t confirmed Blanco’s role in the case. Last week, he rented a car, and chartered a boat from Dinner Key. According to the Coast Guard and a private investigator, Blanco ran out of gas, provided false information, and wiped his GPS.

Police announced they were searching for Blanco on Monday after releasing a "wanted" poster. Officials said Gonzalez and Blanco dated and lived together for five years before breaking up last month.

Earlier Tuesday, police said a body was found in Gonzalez's car, which they found parked outside a home on Southwest 4th Street in the City of Miami. Police have yet to identify the body. Several officers spent Tuesday morning at the scene collecting evidence from the car.

The missing woman's father became emotional and collapsed at the scene. While the body hasn’t been identified, Ramon Gonzalez says it’s only logical that it’s his daughter.

“I’m trying to hold my strength, but I’m only human and there’s so much pain that a human body can take,” Ramon said Tuesday evening. “Not how I wanted to find her. But I found my baby and I can give her a Christian burial and I will bury my baby. May God have my daughter in the place that she belonged. I feel that he took the angel out of this world and took it to him because he needed her up there.”

Gonzalez's aunt Yvette Oliver said she last saw her on Tuesday at Midtown Mall where the two were shopping. They went to Home Goods to find furnishings for Gonzalez's new apartment.

"We went downstairs to the parking lot at the Home Goods and she gave me a kiss and a hug," Oliver said, breaking down into tears. "And that was it. I didn't see her anymore."

Gonzalez has been working at Mojitobar in Bayside since it opened more than three years ago, and was described as a model employee who was never late or skipped work.

"We desperately miss her, the place is not the same without her," owner Henry Leace said.

Police said Gonzalez drove away from the mall in the royal blue BMW 328i that was found Tuesday. Authorities are also investigating a car they say Blanco rented that was found abandoned at the Coconut Grove Marina, although they say there is no sign that Gonzalez was in it.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police at 305-603-6300.

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