SEAGROVE BEACH — An arrest has been made in connection with the murder of a 15-year-old Georgia resident who was vacationing in Seagrove Beach in Walton County.
Steven Anthony Cozzie, 21, of Santa Rosa Beach, was charged with an open count of murder. He was booked at 10:06 a.m., Friday.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the girl’s disappearance about 4 p.m. Thursday after her mother called to say she had not returned from a walk with an acquaintance she had met during the vacation, a Sheriff’s Office news release said.
The girl had been missing for approximately three hours when the Sheriff’s Office was contacted, the release said.
The teen's body was found in a wooded area near Cypress Grove Lane, according to the Sheriff’s Office and other sources.
Deputies “obtained a description of the juvenile’s acquaintance” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Mike Morrison said in the release. The Sheriff’s Office confirmed the “acquaintance” she was last seen with was 21, but did not say whether Cozzie was the acquaintance.
The Sheriff's Office reported Thursday night it was interviewing "persons of interest."
Sheriff Mike Adkinson said after Cozzie was taken into custody the pace of the Sheriff’s Office investigation had been slowed to a pace that would allow a deliberate, careful collection of evidence.
“I’m confident we’re going to see this through to a successful conclusion,” Adkinson said.
The victim and her family were staying at 1 SeaGrove Place condominiums on County Road 30A in Seagrove Beach, sources said. Another family staying at the condominium said the murder "has really shaken us up."
"It makes you want to watch your kids a little closer. I don't think my 15-year-old grandaughter will be going out alone any time soon," said Jorene Goris.
Goris's daughter, Julie Armstrong, said "when you're 15 you should be able to do things on your own, but she (her daughter) is definitely not going anywhere by herself. You never know."
“The Sheriff’s Office will host a press conference today at 3 p.m. to discuss the facts of the case and to mitigate misinformation released to the public from sources outside the Sheriff’s Office,” Morrison said in the news release. “No media interviews will be granted prior to the press conference.”
Cozzie has a Facebook page on which he states he attended South Walton High School and lives in Santa Rosa Beach. He labels himself single and interested in women.
