Newly released records show how vehicle data and surveillance video narrowed the search for the missing 13-year-old in Central Florida.
KISSIMMEE, FL — Newly released evidence shows how investigators used license plate readers, traffic cameras and surveillance video to reconstruct Stephan Sterns’ movements after 13-year-old Madeline Soto disappeared, eventually directing search teams toward the wooded St. Cloud area where her body was found.
The evidence provides a closer look at how a missing-child investigation rapidly developed into a homicide case. Investigators recorded 13 license plate reader hits connected to the case, tracing Sterns’ silver Lincoln from Kissimmee to the International Drive area near Orlando and later toward rural Osceola County. Combined with surveillance footage, the electronic trail allowed detectives to establish where Sterns had traveled and narrow the area they needed to search.
Madeline was reported missing Feb. 26, 2024, one day after her 13th birthday. Sterns, who was dating Madeline’s mother, initially told investigators that he had taken the girl toward Hunter’s Creek Middle School that morning. Investigators later determined that Madeline never arrived at school. The disappearance prompted cooperation among agencies because Madeline lived in Kissimmee in Osceola County but attended school in Orange County.
Surveillance video from the family’s apartment complex became an important early break in the case. Investigators said footage showed Madeline slumped in the front passenger seat of Sterns’ 2010 Lincoln. Less than an hour later, cameras recorded the car returning to the apartment complex with someone still visible in the passenger seat. Authorities later said they believed Madeline was already dead at that point. Other video showed Sterns discarding items in a dumpster at the complex, where investigators later recovered Madeline’s backpack and school-issued laptop.
The investigation then followed the Lincoln away from the apartment complex. License plate readers recorded the vehicle on International Drive near SeaWorld. Investigators canvassed the area and located surveillance footage from a business near Commerce Park Drive that showed Sterns moving Madeline from the passenger compartment into the vehicle’s trunk, according to investigators interviewed by WESH. That footage confirmed to detectives that Sterns was still transporting Madeline and gave them another location and time to add to their developing timeline.
Vehicle records then showed Sterns traveling east on U.S. 192 toward Old Hickory Tree Road near St. Cloud. License plate reader information placed him in the wooded area where Madeline would later be found on two occasions: about 1:16 p.m. Feb. 26 and again about 3:35 a.m. the next day. Investigators said Sterns remained in the area for roughly 55 minutes during the first visit and about 34 minutes during the second. Authorities said he changed a tire during the first stop.
Those repeated trips helped investigators focus their search on the St. Cloud area. Orange County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Joe Covelli told WESH that investigators considered the significance of Sterns returning to the same location after his first visit. The combination of license plate records, surveillance cameras and other investigative work ultimately allowed authorities to narrow the search area. Madeline’s body was found March 1, 2024, in woods near Hickory Tree Road.
The license plate data was one part of a wider investigation. Detectives also examined Sterns’ phone and online storage accounts after Madeline disappeared. Kissimmee police said investigators found images and videos documenting sexual abuse of Madeline, leading to numerous charges against Sterns. Authorities said some of the evidence showed abuse dating back years. The investigation into those files developed separately from the vehicle-tracking evidence that helped authorities retrace his route and locate Madeline.
The newly detailed evidence also highlights how quickly investigators had to combine information from several systems and jurisdictions. Police used license plate readers as leads rather than as proof by themselves, comparing the vehicle hits with surveillance footage, traffic-camera records and physical locations. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said the technology helped investigators retrace the vehicle’s movements faster than they otherwise might have been able to do. Kissimmee Police Chief Charles Broadway also described the license plate information as a critical part of the investigation.
The case later moved through the courts. Sterns was charged with first-degree murder and numerous sex crimes involving Madeline. Prosecutors initially announced plans to seek the death penalty. On July 21, 2025, Sterns pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and guilty to 20 sex-crime counts as part of a plea agreement. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A court later formally designated Sterns a sexual predator.
The latest release does not change Sterns’ sentence, but it provides a more detailed account of how investigators moved from searching for a missing child to identifying the route that led them to Madeline. Officials involved in the investigation have said the license plate readers shortened the time needed to reconstruct Sterns’ movements and helped preserve leads that might otherwise have been lost as the search expanded across Central Florida.
Author note: Last updated October 29, 2026.