VERO BEACH — Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey confirmed the body of the missing Vero Beach woman, Diana Duve, was discovered in the trunk of her car in Melbourne.
Currey said the medical examiner has not delivered an official report on the body’s identity or the cause of death, but police do not have any reason to believe the body is anyone but Duve.
Duve was a nurse at Sebastian River Medical Center.
The body was found in the trunk of Duve’s vehicle, a 2013 Nissan Altima, in the parking lot of a commercial shopping center on Babcock Street in Melbourne.
Her boyfriend, Michael Jones, was located at approximately 12 a.m. on Monday morning at a Hampton Inn off Interstate 95 in Fort Pierce after officials used ping technology to track his phone. He was arrested for violating probation on aggravated stalking and aggravated stalking with a firearm charges and is currently being held at the St. Lucie County jail without bond.
Currey said Jones is the number one suspect in Duve’s death. At the time of his arrest, Jones told officers he was unaware of Duve’s whereabouts. Though Jones had checked in at the Fort Pierce hotel, his car was located at the What-A-Tavern bar in Vero Beach, the last place Duve was seen before her disappearance.
Another ping from Jones’ phone lead authorities to the shopping center where Duve’s car and body were located between the hours of 2 and 4 a.m.
The missing person investigation began on Friday when Duve’s parents contacted authorities, concerned that their daughter had not returned home after a night out with her friends.
Currey said the 26-year-old’s parents were “adamant…that she always stayed in touch.”
He added, “It was very unusual to not be able to contact her. That raised suspicion on her part.”
Police obtained a search warrant for a Carolina Trace apartment located on the 4200 block of 16th Street in Vero Beach where Jones is the tenant. Duve used to live in the apartment with Jones, but moved back in with her parents around mid-June according to information gathered by police.
On Thursday, Duve reportedly spent time with at least one friend at an establishment in Vero Beach before meeting Jones later in the evening. Jones and Duve were seen leaving the What-A-Tavern bar in Vero Beach at approximately 1:15 a.m. Friday with no unusual activity reported.
At approximately 1:45 a.m. Duve sent a text message to her mother informing her she would not be home that night. That was the last text her mother received before she contacted authorities Friday afternoon.
Jones was serving probation in Indian River County after being charged for aggravated stalking and aggravated stalking with a firearm in Fort Lauderdale, according to Chief Currey. His probation had been transferred to Indian River County when he began working for PNC Bank in Vero Beach in the wealth management department.
