TAMPA, Fla. — A group of former law enforcement and military service members is helping in the search for missing USF student Nahida Bristy, according to a social media post on Saturday.
Bristy is presumed dead after the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) charged a suspect with her murder on Saturday, along with the murder of her classmate Zamil Limon, whose body was found Friday on the Howard Frankland Bridge.
Now, the group known as We Are The Essentials is helping in the search to recover Bristy's remains.
"Our team was left speechless, like most of the community, by the shocking turn of events that unfolded yesterday in front of our eyes on the news," the organization wrote in a Facebook post. "As most of you know, as stated in our post, we had planned to conduct a search for Zamil Limon and Nahida S. Bristy. However, due to the events of yesterday, we stood down on our search."
The organization, comprised of former law enforcement officers, military service members and private investigators, said it would be deploying a team to Tampa on Saturday in an attempt to locate Bristy.
As of Friday afternoon, the HCSO marine and dive teams were searching for Bristy near the Howard Frankland Bridge.
The group has asked any members of the public who have observed anything of concern to call 863-559-0707.
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