Ocoee Police continue search for 8-year missing person case

OCOEE – Eight years after she went missing, the search for Tracy Ocasio, who disappeared May 2009, is still ongoing.

According to surveillance camera footage, then 27-year-old Ocasio went missing after leaving the Florida Taproom Bar in Orlando May 26, 2009, with James Hataway.

Ocoee Police Deputy Chief Steve McCosker said Ocasio and Hataway – who is currently serving a life sentence in prison for an unrelated case – were both Ocoee residents who ran in the same circle of friends.

"He had left the bar with Tracy on the night of the disappearance," McCosker said. "Her car was found just blocks from his home.  He admitted she came to his house but says she left on her own.  That's the most I can say."

McCosker confirmed Hataway was convicted of attempted murder in 2008 of Rachel Clarke in a Seminole County case. Other news outlets report Hataway's friends informed police that Hataway practiced Satanism and cannibalism. When asked about the rumors, McCosker said it was "more or less" true and that Hataway "was strange and at one point had vampire teeth capped on."

At this point, Hataway remains the only suspect in the 8-year-old missing person case.

"Even though James Hataway, the only suspect in this case, is serving a life prison sentence on an unrelated case the men and women of the Ocoee Police Department are dedicated to helping Tracy’s family find closure," McCoskers said. "Any information regardless of how small it may seem may be useful."

Anyone with information pertaining to this case is encouraged to call Crimeline to remain anonymous or the Ocoee Police Department at (407) 905-3160.

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected]