A body was found during a search for a missing Central Florida teen on Friday.The Orange County Sheriff's Office has confirmed the body found belongs to Madeline Soto, the 13-year-old girl who had been missing since Monday. Search teams with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office found Soto's body in a wooded area around 4:30 p.m. Friday. Kissimmee police said Soto's body was found near Hickory Tree Road."We had different agencies checking different areas for our missing person," Osceola County Sheriff Marco Lopez said in a news conference on Friday. "A tip led us to the area of Hickory Tree Road, about a mile and a half from here, where someone potentially said they saw some involvement in the case. ""What we did was send our units out here and we discovered what appears to be a body. The body has clothing very similar to what the victim was last seen wearing," Lopez said in a news conference."We're waiting for the forensics units to do their investigation, to make sure that they secure this crime scene," Lopez said. The Kissimmee Police Department is leading the investigation into Soto's death. "It is with a heavy heart I inform everyone that as we expected, Madeline Soto is deceased. I am thankful that she was found and for the coordinated efforts of the Kissimmee Police Department, Saint Cloud Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Osceola County Sheriff's Office that are able to bring some closure to the family," Kissimmee Police Chief Betty Holland said in a statement. "This is a sad day for our community and we mourn the loss of such a young life."Over the past several days, investigators had been searching for the teen. Soto was a student at Hunter's Creek Middle School. The Orange County Public Schools superintendent released a statement on the teen's death:"I am heartbroken to hear from the Orange County Sheriff's Office of the tragic death of our precious student, Madeline Soto. My thoughts and prayers go out to Maddie's family and her school community," said Maria Vazquez, the OCPS superintendent. "To lose a child so suddenly and tragically is extremely difficult especially for family and friends. Counselors continue to be available for any student or staff member dealing with the news. I ask that you keep the entire Hunter's Creek Middle School community in your prayers as they grieve the loss of one of their own."The disappearance:According to Orange County Sheriff John Mina, the last known person with Soto before her disappearance was 37-year-old Stephan Sterns, who is Soto's mother's boyfriend.Investigators said around 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Sterns was believed to have dropped the teen off a few blocks from Hunter's Creek Middle School, which OCPS confirmed is where Soto attends.However, further investigation revealed she was never dropped off near her school, according to Mina. When the girl's mother went to pick her up around 4:30 p.m., she learned that Soto had never attended school that day."I know as a parent, this is every parent's worst nightmare," Mina said. Sterns arrested:On Wednesday evening, OCSO said Sterns, the last known person with Soto, was arrested by Kissimmee police.He is facing charges of sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material.During their investigation, OCSO said "disturbing images" were found on Stern's phone. According to investigators, there were also attempts to delete evidence.Kissimmee police will lead the investigation into the sexual battery case because the alleged crimes took place at the family's home in Kissimmee.According to an affidavit from Kissimmee police, Sterns stated he had accidentally performed a factory reset of the phone on the same day Soto went missing.On Thursday, the Orange County deputies said they believe Sterns had information regarding the disappearance of Soto.However, he refused to answer any questions and requested an attorney. Sterns was transferred from the Orange County jail to the Osceola County jail Friday morning.The investigation led detectives to believe Soto was never dropped off near her school. Soto's backpack was found in a dumpster after investigators discovered video showing Sterns discarding items Monday.Investigators also say Sterns was spotted returning to the family's Kissimmee apartment complex around 8:19 a.m. with the missing teen in the car.According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, they believe Soto was already dead when Sterns was seen with her in the car. "We believe she was already dead at the time and that Stephan Sterns moved her body during the early morning hours of that day. We have video evidence of Stephan Sterns discarding items in a dumpster in that apartment complex in Kissimmee at 7:35 (a.m.) on Monday February 26th," Mina said. "Last night, detectives from the Kissimmee Police Department met with Madeline's mother and had to share the devastating news that although we have not found Madeline, we are confident that she is dead," Mina said in a news conference. Sterns made a court appearance on Saturday. Kissimmee police said he could face more charges after a thorough investigation is conducted. The search: The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a Florida Missing Child Alert for Soto and officials quickly launched an investigation. Soto was described as having blonde hair, blue eyes and was last seen wearing black shorts, a green sweatshirt and white Crocs.Orange County deputies began implementing several tactics to find the missing teen, including interviews with family and friends and extensive searches using bloodhounds."That night we started canvassing the area looking for any witnesses or surveillance videos," Mina said. On Wednesday, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said more than 50 members of their emergency response team were investigating various areas. One command post was set up at Osprey Park as deputies searched on foot, horseback and ATVs.Mina said officials were able to gain access to the teen's phone after they say she left it at home on the day of her disappearance.There, Mina says they found evidence of Soto telling someone she wanted to go live in the woods when she turned 13, which was on Feb. 22. Detectives continued to search Soto's last location and any other area with leads because they didn't know the circumstances under which the teen disappeared.They even spoke with neighbors and distributed flyers hoping somebody saw something and would come forward. A resident reacted to the news of Soto's disappearance."I'm at a loss for words. As a parent, it hurts to even think about, you know, my daughter going missing or my kids. It's terrible what they're going through. My heart goes out to them," resident Jaime Garcia said.