Deputies search for missing Deltona mother, 2 children

Woman's husband arrested on battery charges from previous domestic incident

DELTONA, Fla. – Volusia County deputies and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement continue to search for a missing Deltona woman and her two children, all of whom may be in danger.

A family member called the Volusia County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday morning and asked for deputies to conduct a well-being check on 28-year-old Yessenia Suarez at a home on Covent Gardens Place in Deltona, officials said.

Investigators say Suarez's mother, who made the call, last spoke with her daughter Tuesday night and when she went to Suarez's Deltona home on Wednesday, no one was there.

Neither Suarez, nor 8-year-old Michael Otto and 9-year-old Thalia Otto, were home when deputies performed the check.  Early Thursday, the FDLE issued a missing child alert for the siblings.

Luis Toledo

Shortly after, Suarez's husband, Luis Toledo, 31, arrived at the home and was arrested based on battery charges from a domestic violence incident that occurred Tuesday at his wife's workplace in Lake Mary. Toledo fled before police arrived at the scene, but he was booked into the Volusia County Jail in Daytona Beach on Wednesday.

Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught told Local 6 that detectives interviewed Toledo at the Volusia County Jail, but Haught did not say whether Toledo is providing any clues to his family's whereabouts.

Haught said Toledo is a known gang member. Toledo has an extensive criminal record dating to 1997, with charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and battery with a deadly weapon.

Suarez is described as Hispanic, 5 feet 3 inches tall and 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Suarez's relatives told Local 6 they fear the worst.

"(Suarez) always calls her mom. If she has any problems, she always calls her mom," said Luis Velazquez, Suarez's uncle.

Velazquez said authorities recovered Suarez's newer model Honda on Wednesday, but he did not know the location and the Sheriff's Office would not confirm the information.

Velazquez said Toledo and Suarez had been in a relationship for about four years. He was not aware of any problems between the couple and describes Suarez's children as happy and loving.

"They're real happy," said Velazquez. "They're good kids. They're straight-A kids."

Anyone with information about Suarez or her children is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 386-736-5999 or 911 if there is an emergency.

Watch Local 6 News and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.


About the Author:

Lisa Bell has been in Central Florida since 2007, covering the big stories that impact our community. Lisa was promoted to News 6 evening news co-anchor in May 2014.