A 16-Year-Old Girl Was Reported Missing 2 Years Ago. She Was Just Arrested on a Murder Charge By Charlotte Phillipp 18

An 18-year-old who was reported missing from her Florida home two years ago has been arrested in connection with the murder of a 23-year-old man in North Carolina.

According to reports from local outlets The News & Observer and CBS 17, as well as an arrest warrant obtained by PEOPLE, Gracie Elizabeth Faye Landa was arrested on Monday, Aug. 18, in connection with the killing of Christopher Piedrasanta-Perez on May 30.

The News & Observer reported that Piedrasanta-Perez was one of three people shot inside a vehicle on Rowemont Drive of Durham’s northern side at around 12:30 a.m.

Two women were also injured in the shooting, but authorities have not specified if Landa was in the car, or how she is connected to Piedrasanta-Perez’s death.

In a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner obtained by the News & Observer, investigators state that Piedrasanta-Perez was sitting in the car with two friends near a Durham park when two people approached and began firing shots into the car.

More than 40 casings, including some belonging to a 9 mm and .223 rifle, were found at the scene, the News & Observer reports, and Piedrasanta-Perez’s autopsy states that he sustained a gunshot wound to the head.

In 911 calls obtained by the outlet, a caller states that she had been shot at least 10 times.

Landa was first reported missing when she was 16 years old from her home in Tampa, Fla. on June 27, 2023, per CBS 17. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children later stated that they believed she had traveled to Durham. Though authorities never formally announced that she had been located, Landa is no longer listed on the center’s website.

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Speaking with CBS 17, Piedrasanta-Perez’s mother Amalia said that her son had parked his car near the park after he had finished delivering orders for DoorDash.

In a new warrant obtained by the News & Observer, authorities allege that one of the 23-year-old’s friends had planned to confront another person at the park due to a conflict stemming from a romantic relationship. The warrant does not specify Landa’s alleged ties to the incident, according to the outlet.

Per the warrant, security camera footage of the incident from a nearby building showed two people coming out of the woods and firing shots at the car. The two suspects then fled into the woods.

On a GoFundMe page started to assist with funeral costs, Piedrasanta-Perez’s family remembered him as the first of 10 grandchildren and a brother of three who had a “kind soul” and was “respectful, funny, caring, loving, hardworking.”

“His presence brought light and comfort to the family, had a sense of humor like no other, and now his absence has left a hole in our hearts,” the GoFundMe states in part. “Our family is devastated by this loss.”

Speaking to CBS 17, Piedrasanta-Perez’s mother called him “my first baby.”

“He was just a fun brother, friend, grandson, and son to be around,” she said. “Always with that big smile.”

“Since everything happened, there’s not been a day where I don’t go see his grave. We’re always there. It’s just been so hard, we haven’t stopped going to see him,” Piedrasanta-Perez’s mother added.

Court records show that Landa made her first appearance in Durham County Court on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and was not given bond. She is set to appear in court again on Sept. 11.