KEY BISCAYNE, FLA. (WSVN) - Newly released police body camera footage captured the moments officers discovered a human head that washed up on a beach in Key Biscayne that belonged to a 19-year-old swimmer who had been swept away at sea off Miami Beach days before.
According to police, Victor Enrique Castaneda Jr. was reported missing on Nov. 9 during an evening swim with friends just off South Pointe Beach.
A large-scale, three-hour search was conducted by Miami Beach Fire Rescue and Police, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
Despite the extensive search, the swimmer was not found, and the case was entered into the missing persons database. But on Nov. 12, a worker discovered the human head behind Ocean Sound Key Colony, located in the area of 251 Crandon Blvd., and immediately called police.
In the body camera footage from Key Biscayne Police, officers were seen taping off the area and placing a bag on the remains.
“Whoever wants to move it, we’ll move it here, and then we’ll block it off,” an officer is heard saying in the footage. “We’re going to cover it with a tarp.”
Officers who responded to the beach quickly explored the possible connection to Castaneda.
“The facial hair matches, too,” an officer is heard saying in the bodycam footage.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner would later confirm that the remains belonged to Castaneda.
The worker who discovered the head is someone who drives a beach rig. He stayed and helped police police block off the area during the on-site investigation.
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