Monday, May 23, 2022 - 6:45 a.m.

We have a heartbreaking update to share this morning.  The body of Everliz Valentina Vega Medina, 24, from Venezuela, was recovered off the shore of Longboat Key just before 9 p.m. Sunday.  Her family has been notified.  Everliz went swimming off South Lido Beach with a friend on Saturday between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.  Her friend was able to make it back to shore but Everliz did not.

Sarasota Police have no reason to believe foul play is involved.  The investigation remains ongoing.  Please keep Everliz’s family in your thoughts and prayers.

Sunday, May 22, 2022 - 7:07 p.m.

The Sarasota Police Department is suspending the search for the night for a missing 24-year-old woman who went swimming off South Lido Beach Saturday night and did not return.  Unless something changes overnight, it’s expected the search will resume in the morning.  The family has given permission to share the woman’s name.  Everliz Valentina Vega Medina, 24-years-old, from Venezuela, is who first responders are searching for.

She went swimming with a friend off South Lido Beach between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday.  The friend made it safely back to shore but Everliz did not.

Multiple law enforcement agencies including marine and dive teams from the Sarasota Police Department, Sarasota County Emergency Services, Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission and U.S. Coast Guard have been searching non-stop since being dispatched just after 10 p.m. Saturday.

Searches have been conducted on shore, in the air by helicopter, by boat and in the water by law enforcement dive team members.

Everliz is described as a Hispanic woman, 5’3”, with black hair, brown eyes and weighs approximately 120 lbs.  She was last seen wearing a black bikini and has a tattoo of a black butterfly on her right collar bone / shoulder area.

Sarasota Police have no reason to believe foul play is involved.  The investigation remains active and ongoing.  Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Sarasota Police Department at 941-316-1199.

Sunday, May 22, 2022 - 7:18 a.m.
The Sarasota Police Department is investigating a missing person after an adult woman, age 24, went into the water with a friend off South Lido Beach between 7:30 p.m and 8 p.m on Saturday.  The friend made it back to shore but the woman did not return to shore. 

The woman is described as a Hispanic woman with black hair, brown eyes and approximately 120 lbs.  She was last seen wearing a two piece black bikini and had a tattoo of a black butterfly on her right collar bone. 

Since the original call to dispatch, officers from the Sarasota Police Department and members of the U.S. Coast Guard searched through the night with negative results.  Additional law enforcement agencies have also been assisting through the night.

At this time, Sarasota Police have no indication of any foul play but the investigation remains active and ongoing.  Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Sarasota Police Department at 941-316-1199.