Person linked to missing USF students in custody after barricading themselves: Sheriff's office

Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy were last seen on April 16.

April 24, 2026, 12:49 PM

A person who investigators said was linked to the disappearance of two University of Southern Florida doctoral students was taken into custody Friday, authorities said.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said they responded to a "barricaded subject connected" to the probe into the whereabouts of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, who went missing on April 16.

"The situation has been resolved. One individual is in custody," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post Friday afternoon, without giving more details.

In these photos released by the University of South Florida Police Department, Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy are shown.
University of South Florida Police Department

Limon and Britsy, both 27, were last seen at separate locations in the Tampa area on April 16, according to the USF Police Department.

Officials received new information to warrant upgrading their status from missing to endangered, which indicates they are at risk of physical injury or death, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

The sheriff did not provide any more details about the investigation or search efforts.

Limon and Bristy are friends, and a mutual acquaintance reported them missing, campus police said.

A Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office officer distributes a flyer as they try to locate Nahida Bristy, 27, and Zamil Limon, 27.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Limon, who is pursuing a degree in geography, environmental science and policy, was last seen at his Tampa residence at approximately 9 a.m. on April 16, according to police.

Bristy, who is studying chemical engineering, was last seen at the USF Tampa campus at the Natural & Environmental Sciences Building at approximately 10 a.m. that day, police said.

Both students have been entered into state and national missing persons' databases.

A Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office officer distributes a flyer as they try to locate Nahida Bristy, 27, and Zamil Limon, 27.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to call the University of South Florida Police Department at 813-974-2628.

-ABC News' Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

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