ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A Central Florida mother is turning to the community for help to find her missing son and her family is no stranger to tragedy.
Felicita Nieves said her son, 34-year-old Jonathan Suarez, has not been seen for days. This comes after her daughter and grandchildren went missing nearly a decade ago.
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“Here I am again. Here I am again. I don’t know how much I can hold on. I don’t know,” Nieves said. “I just hope I can find my son.”
Jonathan Suarez is the brother of Yessenia Suarez. She and her two children disappeared in 2013 and were later presumed dead. Her husband, Luis Toledo, was convicted of their murders and sentenced to life in prison.
Nieves said the disappearance of his sister had long term emotional effects on Jonathan.
“At this point, it’s the trauma that he’s having where he’s on a mission to find his sister, his nephew and niece and that’s what’s going on,” she said.
Now, Nieves is on a mission to find her missing son.
She passed out flyers and spoke to people who live in the Hilltop Reserve neighborhood in West Orange County on Wednesday. She said his truck was found in the subdivision Sunday night after he crashed behind a home.
“I guess he thought the street would have kept going and when he realized there’s a fence there, he made a left and hit the fire pit that was there,” Nieves said.
Nieves believes he took off after the crash. But the last confirmed sighting was earlier on Sunday when Jonathan Suarez was involved in a crash at the Longwood rest stop on I-4.
Nieves is now trying to retrace his steps. She hopes neighbors’ cameras may have caught his whereabouts.
She is praying she will find Jonathan and hopes this message gets to him.
“Please Jonathan don’t do this to me. You know how hard this has been to me. My heart is so broken, papi. I miss you. I miss you, my love,” Nieves said.
The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office opened a missing person investigation since the last confirmed sighting was in their jurisdiction.
Nieves said Jonathan is also known to frequent the Apopka, Forest City, and Altamonte Springs areas. If you see him, you’re asked to call law enforcement immediately.