What we know about Tristyn Bailey
13-year-old found dead in St. Johns County neighborhood remembered as being cheerful, friendly
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Tristyn Bailey
ST. JOHNS, Fla. – Tristyn Bailey is being remembered as a student, athlete, friend, daughter and sister.
Bailey, 13, was reported missing Sunday and found dead hours later in her St. Johns County neighborhood.
A schoolmate at Patriot Oaks Academy, 14-year-old Aiden Fucci, was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with her death.
Bailey was in seventh grade. A day after she was found dead, students at Patriot Oaks Academy and neighboring Durbin Creek Elementary were encouraged to wear white in her memory. In a show of solidarity and grief for Bailey’s family, neighbors tied aqua-colored ribbons around their mailboxes, as it was her favorite color.
First Posted: May 11, 2021 03:51 AM EDT
Photo : Elizabeth Kay on Unsplash
The search for the 13-year-old Florida cheerleader comes to an end after her body was found less than a day after she was reported missing.
Tristyn Bailey was last seen shortly after midnight on Sunday in her Durbin Crossing neighborhood. The Florida cheerleader was found dead in a remote wooded area near a pond past 6 p.m. by a resident.
She was found after law enforcement officials released a missing person alert, People reported. Sheriff Robert Hardwick of the St. Johns County Sheriff s Office said in a press conference on Monday that an arrest had been made in connection to Bailey s disappearance and killing.
Aiden Fucci, 14, is being held in juvenile detention in St. Augustine, Florida
He was arrested on Monday on suspicion of murdering 13-year-old cheerleader Tristyn Bailey
Tristyn vanished on Sunday morning; her body was found at 6pm on Sunday night
Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to charge him as an adult or child
Until then, a judge is banning photographs of him in court
Aiden appeared via Zoom on Tuesday to be remanded in custody
His parents Crystal Smith and Jason Fucci were present for the brief hearing
Police haven t yet mapped out their case against Fucci but sheriffs named him on Monday