Copyright 2018 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Carla Stephaniak was reported missing. Family photos 
 
 RIVERVIEW, Fla. (WFLA) - A Riverview family is desperate to find a loved one who vanished during a birthday trip to Costa Rica. 
 
 Carla Stefaniak, 36, was supposed to fly home from her trip to Costa Rica on her birthday, Nov. 28, but she never made it. 
 
 Stefaniak and her sister-in-law April Antonieta, of Riverview, had flown to Costa Rica to celebrate Stefaniak’s birthday. They visited a lot of places in Costa Rica and had a great time. 
 
 Antonieta had to fly home one day earlier than Stefaniak on Nov. 27. 
 
 Antonieta told WFLA.com that Stefaniak drove her to the airport and dropped her off. Stefaniak then returned their rental car. An Uber driver picked up Stefaniak and took her to the Airbnb she was staying at. 
 
 Antonieta said she and Stefaniak continued to communicate with each other while Antonieta waited for her flight at the airport. 
 
 The Uber driver took Stefaniak to her Airbnb and offered to give her a 1-hour tour of San Jose. She accepted and went on the tour about an hour later. 
 
 Stefaniak continued to communicate with Antonieta during this time. 
 
 Stefaniak returned from the tour and was dropped off at her Airbnb. She communicated with Antonieta and said it was raining really hard and the power had gone out. That was the last time Antonieta heard from her sister-in-law. 
 
 Stefaniak was supposed to get on a plane to fly home to Miami at 1 p.m. the next day, Nov. 28. 
 
 But, that never happened. 
 
 Antonieta said she initially wasn't worried when she did not hear from Stefaniak that morning, she thought her sister-in-law may have slept in. 
 
 But that wasn’t the case. 
 
 "She totally went missing, ghosted on her birthday, which is totally unlike her," said Antonieta adding that Stefaniak’s social media accounts have gone silent, which is very unusual. 
 
 Antonieta said she has contacted the Miami FBI, the US Embassy and Senator Marco Rubio’s office about Stefaniak’s disappearance. 
 
 Antonieta has also created a flyer that is being shared on social media with the hashtag #FindingCarla. A GoFundMe page has been created to help pay for a trip to Costa Rica to search for Stefaniak . 
 
 Antonieta said her husband and a friend flew to Costa Rica this morning to search for Stefaniak. 
 
 She did not go. 
 
 “I’m scared of what I’m going to find,” she said. 
 
 Antonieta said her sister-in-law lived in Tampa for 12 years. 
 
 Antonieta and her husband live with Stefaniak’s father in Riverview. 
 
 Copyright 2018 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ||||| Image copyright Finding Carla/Facebook Image caption Carla Stefaniak's family is in Costa Rica searching for her 
 
 A body has been found near the Airbnb property in Costa Rica where a Florida woman was staying before going missing last week, US media say. 
 
 There is no official confirmation of the identity of the person found. 
 
 Carla Stefaniak, 36, disappeared on 28 November, the day she was due to leave from San Jose after a birthday trip with her sister-in-law. 
 
 In her last message, she told a friend the power was going out, adding the area was "pretty sketchy", or unsafe. 
 
 NBC News quoted investigating agency spokeswoman Marisel Rodríguez Solís as saying that tracker dogs had discovered the body partially buried in plastic bags. 
 
 Ms Stefaniak's family have been looking for her in Costa Rica. They feared she had been kidnapped, saying she was in "imminent danger". 
 
 On Tuesday morning, Ms Stefaniak's family posted on Facebook that they were going to the morgue to identify the recovered body. 
 
 Spokesman for the family and one of Ms Stefaniak's close friends, Bugra Demirel, told the BBC that Ms Stefaniak's father and brother have been waiting outside of the morgue since 07:30 local time. 
 
 "For the last four hours they are just there waiting - it's a horrible wait, and every single minute that Costa Rican officials are not showing the body is just a tremendous amount of pain on the family," Mr Demirel said. 
 
 Image copyright Finding Carla/Facebook Image caption Carla Stefaniak has been missing since 28 November in Costa Rica 
 
 "Even the best circumstance is really a nightmare scenario - we're hoping it's not Carla, but then it's somebody else's daughter," he added. "We're hoping it's not Carla based on what we know, but there's still a lot of possibility that it could be." 
 
 Mr Demirel said he had stayed on the phone until 05:00 on Tuesday morning, talking through the situation. 
 
 "They are numb. They just want answers." 
 
 Image copyright Finding Carla / Facebook 
 
 Ms Stefaniak, from the Miami area, and her sister-in-law April Burton were visiting Costa Rica to celebrate Ms Stefaniak's birthday, but Ms Burton returned to Florida a day before Ms Stefaniak. 
 
 The women had stayed at an Airbnb rental in the San Jose suburb of Escazu. 
 
 The last time Ms Burton saw Ms Stefaniak was when she dropped her off at the airport on 27 November. 
 
 Ms Stefaniak then reportedly took an Uber from the airport to do some sightseeing around San Jose before she was dropped off at the Airbnb. 
 
 Image copyright Finding Carla / Facebook Image caption "She genuinely loved life, such a free spirit!!!!" said her family in a Facebook post, sharing this image 
 
 She had been actively messaging friends and family throughout the day. 
 
 Her final text to a friend around 21:00 local time indicated it was raining hard and the power in her Airbnb accommodation had gone out. 
 
 Family and friends texted Ms Stefaniak for her birthday on 28 November, but received no response. 
 
 Ms Stefaniak had a flight scheduled for the following day, for which she had checked in and scheduled an Uber. 
 
 Image copyright Finding Carla/Facebook Image caption An Instagram photo showing Ms Stefaniak before the Costa Rica trip 
 
 But her family later learned she never boarded the flight home. 
 
 The Airbnb rental owner and local security guards said they saw her get into an unknown car with her luggage at around 05:00 local time, according to the family. 
 
 "None of us really believe this 5am story because it really doesn't make sense," Ms Burton told Fox News. 
 
 "There's no reason for her not to contact anyone." 
 
 Image copyright Finding Carla/Facebook Image caption Carla (bottom right), her mother and her two brothers Mario (left) and Carlos (right) 
 
 According to the family's Facebook page, Finding Carla, officials had initially not pursued the matter because Ms Stefaniak had appeared "rational at the time of her disappearance and got into a taxi of her own free will". 
 
 An Airbnb spokesman said the company has reached out to Ms Stefaniak's family as well as law enforcement authorities to support and cooperate with the investigation. 
 
 The US Embassy in Costa Rica did not immediately return a request for comment. ||||| Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter 
 
 MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Authorities in Costa Rica have found a body Monday in the area where a South Florida woman had gone missing. 
 
 Costa Rica Judicial Investigative Office spokesperson Marisel Rodriguez tells CBS News that a body has been found partially buried and inside plastic in the area where Miami resident Carla Stefaniak was staying outside of San Jose, Costa Rica. 
 
 Authorities have not identified the body yet and are in contact with Stefaniak’s family who are in Costa Rica in an effort to make an identification. 
 
 One of Stefaniak’s brothers, Mario Caicedo, said he is remaining positive that the body discovered is not his sister. 
 
 “Sincerely, I didn’t feel bad or scared because I have so much positivity and so much faith that it’s not my sister,” Mario said. “We’re just waiting for the confirmation that it isn’t her from the authorities.” 
 
 He has a message for Carla. 
 
 “Come home,” he said, as his eyes welled up. “I miss her. I want to have her close to me. We’re all waiting for her.” 
 
 Earlier story follows: 
 
 The family of a South Florida woman who disappeared during a vacation in Central America is desperately trying to find her. 
 
 Carla Stefaniak, who lives near Miami, went to Costa Rica to celebrate her 36th birthday. Her family says they haven’t heard from her since the night before she was set to return home. The was nearly a week ago. 
 
 During the trip Stefaniak was all smiles, posting multiple videos and photos on social media as she and her sister-in-law April Burton spent a week-long vacation in Costa Rica. 
 
 “It seemed so safe when we were there, everything was great,” said Burton. 
 
 Because of a prior commitment, Burton left Costa Rica on November 27th – the day before Stefaniak was scheduled to fly home. 
 
 Now on her own, Stefaniak took an Uber to her Airbnb and then had her driver give her a tour of San Jose. After returning around 5 p.m., She told a friend it was “raining crazy” and the power was out. She added that “it’s pretty sketchy here.” 
 
 Around 9 p.m. that night, all communication stopped which was highly unusual, according to her brother Carlos Caicedo, who is now assisting in search efforts in Costa Rica. 
 
 “It was her birthday and she loves to be on social media. So I’m guessing every single app that there is that you can communicate, I’m sure she was on it,” he said. 
 
 Caicedo said according to the owner of the Airbnb, a security guard saw his sister get into a car with her bags at 5 a.m. the next morning. 
 
 “Which makes no sense because her flight was at 1:30 p.m. and she was only 20 to 30 minutes away from the airport and she is never early for anything,” said Burton. 
 
 Adding to the mystery, the family said Stefaniak had checked-in online for her flight and ordered an Uber to pick her up later that morning. 
 
 Airbnb had no comment and Uber said it will assist in the investigation. 
 
 Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s office has reached out to assist the family.
– A Florida woman has gone missing in Costa Rica after visiting for her birthday and getting into an unknown car, WFLA reports. Carla Stefaniak, 36, was scheduled to return Wednesday, the day after her fellow traveler/sister-in-law flew back—but Stefaniak never made the plane. "She totally went missing, ghosted on her birthday, which is totally unlike her," says sister-in-law Antonieta, whose last name is reported variously in the media. "I'm scared of what I'm going to find." Now Antonieta's husband, who is Stefaniak's brother, has flown down with a friend to find her. They've talked to security guards, an Uber driver, and Airbnb owners, who say Stefaniak got into an unknown car Wednesday morning, per CBS Miami. According to relatives, Stefaniak dropped off her sister-in-law at the airport Tuesday, returned their rental car, and took an hourlong tour on San Jose in an Uber. That night she texted that rain was pouring and power was intermittent. Her last text: "It's pretty sketchy here," per QCostaRica. Police investigators confirm she left her room with her luggage at about 5am Wednesday morning. Her social media accounts have gone quiet, with her last Instagram post showing her on vacation Monday. Antonieta says she's told the Miami FBI, the US embassy, and Sen. Marco Rubio's office, and set up a GoFundMe page to pay for the search. "She was just such a happy go lucky person," says Antonieta. "I'm just afraid she was just too trusting with someone there."