Madeline Soto: 911 calls from morning Florida teen went missing released
911 calls released in Madeline Soto case
Officials on Thursday released what appears to be three initial 911 calls related to the disappearance of Madeline Soto, a 13-year-old girl who was reported missing and found dead five days later. The calls appear to be part of the inital report of Soto's disappearance. Someone calls 911 asking how long it will take an office or deputy to respond.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - The body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto was found in a grassy area in Osceola County, Florida five days after she was reported missing, officials said. Her mom's boyfriend, Stephen Sterns, is considered a "prime suspect" in her disappearance. He has been charged with dozens of charges related to sexual abuse. Click here for the latest updates on the investigation.
FOX 35 has obtained the 911 calls from the morning 13-year-old Madeline Soto went missing from Orange County.
Three calls were placed to the Orange County Sheriff's Office on the morning on Feb. 26, the day Madeline was last seen. Two of the calls were placed by a woman who said she was calling on behalf of the teen's mother, Jennifer Soto. The third call is from another woman whose identity was not immediately made clear.
"I'm reporting a missing child," the woman said in the first 911 call. She said she was calling on behalf of Madeline's mother.
The dispatcher asked her questions about Madeline's appearance, what she was last seen wearing, and where she was last seen. Additionally, the caller revealed that Madeline left her cell phone at home that day.
"How long has it been, though, since you guys have last seen her?" the dispatcher asked the woman.
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"Since this morning," the woman replied. "She was dropped off at school this morning and apparently, she never showed up. We called everyone we know and no one's seen her."
Early on in the investigation, Jennifer Soto said her boyfriend Stephan Sterns had dropped Madeline off at the Peace United Methodist Church near Hunter's Creek Middle School. When Jennifer Soto went to pick up her daughter that Monday, she was made aware that Madeline had never made it inside.
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The same woman called 911 again a few minutes later for an update, asking why deputies have not arrived at their house yet.
"I called not that long ago reporting a missing child," the woman said. "I just wanted to know how long the cops are gonna take to get here."
The dispatcher said there weren't any deputies available, and they would send one over as soon as possible.
"We just need one here urgently," the woman replied, eventually adding that "this happened just very recently. So we just want to get everyone here. She's been missing since 8 a.m. so we want to get everything done as soon as possible to try and find her."
TIMELINE: Everything we know so far about Madeline Soto's disappearance, homicide investigation
The third 911 call is from a different woman, who also wanted an update from the Orange County Sheriff's Office on when a deputy would arrive.
"They haven't come here yet," the woman said.
"I'm aware, ma'am. I see. I'm waiting for a deputy response," the dispatcher said.
"You're waiting for a deputy to respond?" the woman replied.
"Yes, ma'am," the dispatcher said.
"And how long more do we need to wait if it's a child missing?" the woman said.
The dispatcher said they were unable to give an estimated time of arrival for the deputies, but said they're trying to get someone sent out as soon as possible.
"So this is not important for you guys. Really?" the woman said.
The dispatcher reassured the woman that someone would be sent out as soon as possible.
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Detectives learned later that week that Madeline was likely dead that Monday morning. Sterns had allegedly been seen dumping items – later recovered and identified as Madeline's backpack and school-issued laptop – in a dumpster at a Kissimmee apartment complex. Additionally, detectives said they believe Madeline was already dead in his car when he was seen driving around at 7:45 a.m.
Madeline's body was found on the afternoon of March 1 in rural Osceola County.
Sterns was arrested two days after Madeline was reported missing, but has not been charged in Madeline's homicide. He's facing 60 counts of sexual battery, molestation and child porn-related offenses. He remains in custody in Osceola County, but has been uncooperative in the investigation, according to Kissimmee Police Chief Betty Holland.
Booking photo of Stephan Sterns from the Osceola County Jail.
Since Madeline's body was found, limited details about the homicide investigation have been released.
Madeline Soto case: Florida State Attorney shares update
State Attorney Andrew Bain spoke to reporters on Wednesday and shared some insight into the Madeline Soto case. The 13-year-old girl went missing and was found dead in late February and early March, and charges haven't been filed against whomever killed her.
FOX 35 News spoke to State Attorney Andrew Bain on Wednesday to ask about the case.
According to Bain, public information is limited because prosecutors are concerned the trial could be moved to another jurisdiction if the case is too well-known in Central Florida.
"And so the integrity of our cases depends on that information not being readily available, because the last thing we need is all, what we saw with our cases where you have to go out and find jurors from different jurisdictions, and you have to, you know, bring in jurors to try a case, because the case has become so well known to the people in the community that we can't present a fair trial," Bain said. "So we want to have, we want to be able to present a fair trial. We want a case to be tried by the people of our circuit and the people of our circuit to determine what's the best result for that case."