Police are saying the death of a teenage Miami girl who disappeared while on a morning jog was caused by a hit-and-run driver.
The remains of 16-year-old Diani Gomez Sanchez were found Sunday night by a relative off the 79th Street causeway near Pelican Harbor Marina, Miami police said. Her family and law enforcement had been searching for her since she disappeared Saturday morning.
Police had originally suspected the teen was slain, but by Monday afternoon they had determined she had been struck by a gray or silver car that fled.
"A life was lost in this and we now know and we now strongly believe it was a hit-and-run," Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters Monday.
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Family members said it was part of Gomez Sanchez's daily routine to go for a run in the mornings. They said they didn't expect the worst.
"We’re going through a lot, I mean the loss of her, a family member, it’s just hard for us right now," brother Yeferson Gomez said.
Acevedo said detectives are searching for a grey sedan that likely has significant windshield damage on its passenger side.
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“It’s still a homicide,” said Assistant Miami Police Chief Armando Aguilar Jr. “But it’s a vehicular homicide.”
