PALM BAY, Fla. — The Palm Bay Police Department has arrested 32-year-old Stefan Eide in connection with the disappearance of Marissa Garcia, a 25-year-old woman who vanished in December 2023.
Eide was taken into custody on Thursday after a year-long investigation by police, who linked him to Garcia’s disappearance through his ownership of a silver pickup truck seen at the time she was last seen.
According to the arrest affidavit, Garcia was seen by an acquaintance getting into a silver pickup truck with a dirt bike mounted in the back on December 23, 2023, in Palm Bay.
Eide initially denied knowing Garcia, but later admitted to police that he had picked her up and taken her to Max Rodes Park, where they engaged in sexual activity. Eide claimed Garcia began convulsing and became unresponsive, and he found what he believed to be narcotics in her purse.
He later told police that he left Garcia’s body in his car for several hours before disposing of it in the area of Hammock Road and Cuyler Street in Mims. Despite extensive searches, Garcia’s remains have never been found.
Eide faces multiple charges, including tampering with evidence, failure to report a death, illegal transportation of human remains, improper disposal of human remains, and soliciting prostitution.
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