A person is in custody in connection to two missing University of South Florida doctoral students, local authorities said Friday.
The person, who is not one of the students, was barricaded at a home in the Lake Forest Community, a neighborhood near USF’s Tampa campus, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said. Officials would not say whether the person in custody is considered a suspect, only that they are connected to the disappearance.
The entrance and exit of the Lake Forest Community was briefly shut down due to the law enforcement activity.
Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27, were last seen in the Tampa area on April 16, the University of South Florida Police Department said.
The sheriff’s office had elevated Limon and Bristy’s status to endangered on Thursday.
“Recently, information that has come to light has led detectives to consider the two endangered,” the HCSO said in a statement. It did not give details about the information.
Limon is studying the use of AI in environmental science and was set to present his doctoral thesis this week, his family said. Bristy is studying chemical engineering.
Bristy’s older brother, Zahid Pranto, told CBS News that Bristy would typically be in touch with her family on a daily basis.
“There has been no single day without contact with her,” Pranto said. “My family is just devastated.”
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