Body found during search for Spring woman missing in Belize

SPRING, Texas – The U.S. Embassy in Belize said they have been notified that an American citizen was reported missing after jet skiing in the area around Ambergris Caye.

Rickilee Mercer, of Spring, left for Belize on Feb. 24. She was taking a vacation with friends, according to her family.

On Tuesday night, her family got the call that she was missing. Authorities told her family that she had been missing since around 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Her family said Mercer was on a jet ski with a man when she went missing. That man was questioned while in police custody, but has since been released, according to reports.

Her family doesn't believe she knew the man or went on the trip with him. The family believes he was a tourist as well and the two may have met on the trip.

The father of one of Mercer's friends said the body was identified as that of Mercer, but an in-person identification will take place on Thursday.

Natella Svistunova, from the Office of Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy, said the embassy was informed that a body had been found in the area where the search for Mercer was taking place.

Svistunova said the identity of the body is unknown at this time.

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