The body of a missing University of South Florida doctoral student was found in Tampa on Friday and the man’s roommate was arrested in connection with his disappearance as the search for a second missing student continued, the authorities said.
The students, Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, who are both 27 and doctoral students at the university, were last seen in the Tampa area on April 16 and were reported missing by a family friend the next day, the University of South Florida Police Department said on Tuesday.
The authorities found Mr. Limon’s body on Friday morning on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa, Joseph Maurer, the chief deputy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, said at a news conference on Friday.
Mr. Limon’s body was found about 20 miles southwest of his home near the university’s campus, where he was last seen.
Mr. Limon’s roommate, Hisham Abugharbieh, was arrested on Friday in connection with the disappearance of the students, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Mr. Abugharbieh, 26, was charged with unlawfully holding or moving a dead body, failure to report a death, tampering with evidence, false imprisonment and battery, the sheriff’s office said.
A motive was not immediately clear, Deputy Maurer said.
The authorities were still searching for Ms. Bristy, who lived on the university’s campus, though not with Mr. Limon and Mr. Abugharbieh.
The sheriff’s office said on social media on Friday that its marine and dive teams were searching for Ms. Bristy in the water off the Howard Frankland Bridge, which carries Interstate 275 across Old Tampa Bay between St. Petersburg and Tampa.
Mr. Abugharbieh is not currently enrolled at the university, but he studied business management there from spring 2021 to spring 2023, a spokeswoman said.
Around 9 a.m. on Friday, the sheriff’s office responded to a domestic violence call involving Mr. Abugharbieh at a home north of the university’s campus, just under a mile and a half from where Mr. Limon was last seen.
When the authorities arrived, Mr. Abugharbieh had barricaded himself inside and refused commands to come out, Deputy Maurer said.
After about 20 minutes, a SWAT team, bomb disposal team and crisis negotiation team were called to the scene, the sheriff’s office said. Mr. Abugharbieh was taken into custody around 10:30 a.m.
The sheriff’s office had identified Mr. Abugharbieh as a person of interest before responding to the domestic violence call, and investigators had previously interviewed him about the disappearances of the two students, Deputy Maurer said.
Mr. Abugharbieh ended a follow-up interview with investigators on Thursday, Deputy Maurer said.
The cause of Mr. Limon’s death was not immediately clear. Autopsy results were expected on Saturday, Deputy Maurer said.
The Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday afternoon.
Hannah Ziegler is a general assignment reporter for The Times, covering topics such as crime, business, weather, pop culture and online trends.
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