(CNN) -- Missing Florida pilot Robert Wiles, who was believed kidnapped and held for ransom 21 months ago, now is believed to be dead, and a former co-worker is in custody, accused of his death, the FBI said Friday.
Authorities arrested Stobert "Tobie" Holt Jr., 42, Friday in Orlando, Florida, after he arrived from Colombia, where he was on a business trip, according to Tampa-based FBI spokesman David Couvertier.
Holt faces state charges of first degree murder, kidnapping, extortion, and intent to inflict death or serious bodily harm, the spokesman said. The arrest was made by police from Lakeland, Florida, the Polk County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who were accompanied by FBI agents, he said.
Though authorities now believe Wiles was killed, they don't know where his body is, he said.
The arrest was uneventful, Couvertier said: "Holt was advised of his rights and said nothing."
A four-count grand jury indictment was unsealed Friday in Polk County, where Wiles, then 26, ran a branch of his family's international aircraft maintenance business, National Flight Service, at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.
The FBI said Holt worked for Wiles at the time he disappeared. He was among several employees who told investigators they last saw Wiles on April 1, 2008, at the office and had no clue what happened to him.
The FBI won't reveal the suspected motive or why agents believe it was Holt who left a uniquely signed ransom note demanding money two days after Wiles disappeared.
At the time, agents said Wiles' father tried to comply with the demand to get back his son, but heard nothing.
Holt is described as an employee who, at least at one time, had a supervisory role at the company.
Authorities say he now works as a contract employee doing similar flight maintenance work at Patrick Air Force base near Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Wiles was single. When he vanished without a trace, fellow employees said they were stunned.
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