Head washed ashore in Florida identified as teen who saved sister from drowning

The identity of the person whose head washed up on a popular tourist beach in south florida has been identified as a teenager who disappeared after saving his older sister from drowning.

Victor Enrique Castaneda Jr., 19, and his sister, Jessica Castaneda, were last seen entering the ocean at South Point Beach in the early evening of Saturday, November 9, when they were overtaken by a rip current, the Miami Herald previously reported.

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, after three days of unsuccessful searches for the missing teen, a beach worker in Key Biscayne made a grim discovery and came across a washed-up head, Miami-Dade police confirmed to PEOPLE.

Now the mystery of the human head has been solved. On Friday, November 15, police identified the head as that of Castaneda, according to reports from CBS News, NBC News and the Miami Herald.

The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner also confirmed that the remains found Tuesday near Key Biscayne belonged to Castaneda, according to the Miami Herald and NBC News.

“The Miami Beach Police Department extends its prayers and condolences to the family,” Cmdr. Shantell Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the department, the Miami Herald reported. “Our victim advocates will continue to provide support to the family during this time.”

Miami Beach police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

A cause and manner of death for the teen have not yet been released, but there is nothing to indicate foul play at this time, a police spokesperson told NBC News. An investigation is underway.

Last week, before the head was identified, Det. Andre Martin of the Miami-Dade Police Department told PEOPLE that the case is not being investigated as a homicide.

“At this point we are not ruling out any possibility,” he told PEOPLE. “This could be an accident or a missing person, it’s too early to tell the circumstances.”

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After Castaneda and his sister were overtaken by a current, good Samaritans were able to rescue his sister, but were unable to find the teen, local TV station. WTVJ reported.

Castaneda’s older sister Jessica later recalled at the outlet that her siblings “just hit the water” when it started to get dark and they were overtaken. “They got confused and screamed for help,” she said WTVJ.

“Before he went under the water, he threw my sister, because he told her she was going to die, and he threw her, and that was the last she saw of him,” she added of Castaneda, who she said she “died a hero.”

In a November 12 Facebook In tribute, Jessica wrote that her brother’s absence “will never be accepted.”

“The pain I still have is insurmountable,” she wrote alongside photos of the late teen. “My heart is completely and irreparably shattered. Your absence will never be accepted. No words can ever describe how much I love you, Victor. To the top of the highest mountain and to the depths deeper than the Titanic, I love you little brother. I love you so much.”

“I will miss you every second of every minute of every day for the rest of my life,” she concluded. “I will dream of your smile and your infectious laugh until I find you in the next life, in every life I will find you. .”