PALM BAY, Fla. – Authorities in Palm Bay are currently awaiting results from the medical examiner following the discovery of human remains in a forested area. This finding may potentially be linked to an individual who has been missing for nearly a year, according to investigators.

The remains were uncovered on Wednesday in the wooded region along Santo Domingo Avenue. Detectives are actively investigating to ascertain if there is any connection to the ongoing missing person case.

In conjunction with this investigation, police executed a search warrant at a Turk Road residence on Wednesday morning. The operation involved a SWAT team and attracted significant attention from local residents.

“They were using loudspeakers, instructing people to exit with their hands raised,” recounted Olivia Coursey, a neighbor who captured the incident on video from her backyard as law enforcement officers encircled the property. “It was a frightening situation.”

During the search of the home, officers apprehended 51-year-old George Mancilla on drug-related charges after discovering drug residue and paraphernalia in his bedroom.

While Mancilla has been identified as a person of interest in the missing person case, he has not been charged in relation to the disappearance, according to investigators.

Detectives said information gathered during the search led them to the wooded area about two miles away, where the remains were discovered. The area was blocked off as crime scene investigators processed the scene.

Corrections records show Mancilla spent much of the past two decades in prison, serving time between 2002 and 2016. He was most recently released in 2024 and has prior felony convictions, including burglary, battery and grand theft.

Police said Mancilla remains in custody at the Brevard County jail on the drug charge and a probation violation.

Investigators emphasized the case remains active and said they are waiting on the medical examiner’s office to identify the remains and determine whether they are connected to the missing person case.