Deputies: Human remains identified as missing St. Cloud woman

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — The Osceola Sheriff's Office said Sunday that the human remains found Friday have been identified as Nicole Montalvo.

On Sunday, Osceola and Orange County deputies began to search a second location for a missing St. Cloud woman.

Deputies said the new location is an overgrown lot on Henry J Avenue. It is about a block away from the property where Nicole Montalvo was last seen.

Osceola deputies said Friday evening that an estranged husband of Montalvo and his father have been named persons of interest in her disappearance.

Deputies said Montalvo's estranged husband, Christopher Otero-Rivera, and his father, Angel Luis Rivera, have been arrested on charges unrelated to Montalvo's disappearance.

Maj. Jacob Ruiz, of the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, said Otero-Rivera was arrested for violation of probation and violation of domestic injunction, and his father, Rivera, was arrested on violations of condition of a registered felon.

They were both transported to the Osceola County Jail.

Otero-Rivera went before a judge Saturday morning but was told to come back Sunday because a warrant for his arrest was not available.

On Sunday, the judge issued a $25,000 bail for violation of domestic injunction and no bail for violation of probation. Rivera did not appear before a judge because he is in a hospital for chest pains and shortness of breath.

Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said Friday afternoon that possible human remains had been found on a five-acre property where Montalvo was last seen.

The remains were discovered along Hixon Avenue near Deer Run and Canoe Creek roads, not far from St. Cloud, Gibson said.

Investigators said they are unsure if the remains are those of a man or a woman.

They said the medical examiner's office will conduct an autopsy on the possible remains.

Osceola Co Sheriff just announced that investigators have discovered “possible human remains” along Hixson Ave. This was the last place that Nicole Montalvo was last seen.We will have more on Eyewitness News at 4, 5 and 6#wftv #missingmom pic.twitter.com/RyOwS3fHIp
— Karen Parks (@KParksWFTV) October 25, 2019

Deputies said Montalvo was last seen at about 5 p.m. Monday dropping off her son at Hixon Avenue. She was reported missing Wednesday.

Investigators said Montalvo was supposed to pick up her son from Harmony School on Tuesday but she never did so.

Investigators had searched the property -- including a construction shed, recreational vehicle and trailers -- for Montalvo or evidence relating to her disappearance.

"There's a wooded area and a pond in that property, and so we are going to comb the entire property," Ruiz said.

On Sunday, deputies said they have searched 50% of the property for Montalvo. Deputies said they began draining a large pond on the property Saturday and continued to drain it Sunday.

Felcia Fearon told Channel 9 that she has known Montalvo since fifth grade.

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"It's not like her to drop off her son and not pick him back up," she said. "He's her world, so that's all she did -- be with him, spend time with him."

Records said Montalvo called deputies last year to report that her estranged husband and another person took her to a secluded area, where he slapped her across the face several times because he didn't like her texting a friend and taking his son.

The documents said he threw her to the ground and attempted to break her neck, saying she would be killed if she called 911.

Earlier this month, Montalvo sent a handwritten letter to a judge asking that a protection order she had against her husband be dropped because it would be best for her son.