Sonia Bellina’s family had been preparing for a celebration.

The TikTok creator was approaching her 30th birthday on Sept. 30, and her loved ones had already begun making plans for the occasion.

Instead, they found themselves searching for answers after Bellina disappeared — and then confronting the devastating possibility that a partially burned body discovered between rows of vines in southern France belonged to her.

A week after the remains were found, authorities confirmed what her family had feared.

DNA analysis formally identified the woman as Bellina, a 29-year-old social media creator with more than 260,000 TikTok followers.

Two men have since been arrested as investigators continue examining the circumstances surrounding her death.

A Farm Worker Made the Discovery

The investigation began on Wednesday, Aug. 12, in Saint-Gilles, a community in the Gard region of southern France, more than 450 miles south of Paris.

A farm worker arriving at a vineyard discovered a body lying between rows of vines and contacted authorities.

The remains had been partially burned.

That same day, the Nîmes Prosecutor’s Office announced that a murder investigation had been opened. A regional police unit was assigned to the case, and an autopsy was scheduled for the following day.

At that stage, authorities had not publicly confirmed the identity of the person who had been found.

For Bellina’s family, however, troubling clues were already beginning to point in one direction.

Bellina had vanished two days earlier.

According to her relatives, she left home on Monday, Aug. 10, after saying she was going out for the evening.

She never returned.

Her sister later described the sequence of events during a TikTok livestream, recalling that Bellina simply went out one night and then disappeared.

By Wednesday morning, a body had been discovered in Saint-Gilles.

Her Family Feared It Was Sonia Before DNA Results Arrived

While investigators worked to formally identify the remains, Bellina’s relatives believed the body was likely hers.

Her family pointed to several details.

Bellina had breast implants, which corresponded with what investigators found. A ring recovered with the body also appeared to match one belonging to her.

Her sister additionally said she was able to track Bellina’s phone through its location-sharing feature.

Still, the family had to wait for official confirmation.

That came on Wednesday, Aug. 19.

The Nîmes Prosecutor’s Office said DNA testing had established that the remains were Bellina’s.

The confirmation ended the uncertainty over her identity, but it did not answer the larger question of what happened after she left home on Aug. 10.

Investigators have continued treating the case as a homicide.

Two Men Taken Into Custody

Authorities also announced a major development in the investigation when Bellina was formally identified.

Two men had been arrested.

According to prosecutors, evidence suggested the men may have had direct or indirect involvement in the incident.

Both remained in custody as of the announcement.

Authorities did not provide additional details about their identities, what evidence led investigators to them or what specific role either man is suspected of having played.

No further account of Bellina’s final hours was released.

The investigation remains ongoing.

For her family, the unanswered questions now sit alongside an enormous personal loss.

‘We Were Getting Ready for Her Birthday’

One of the most painful details shared by Bellina’s sister concerned what the family had expected to be doing instead.

They were preparing to celebrate.

Bellina would have turned 30 on Sept. 30.

Her family had been planning a birthday party for her.

Instead of discussing decorations, guests or how she wanted to mark the milestone, her sister was speaking publicly about Bellina’s disappearance and death.

She described what happened as a terrible encounter at the wrong moment, saying her sister had crossed paths with “the wrong guy at the wrong time.”

That grief was compounded by another problem the family never expected to face: cruel commentary online.

Family Pleads for Respect After Online Attacks

Bellina had built a large audience on TikTok, where she was known in particular for posting lip-sync videos.

Her following exceeded 260,000 people.

That visibility meant news of her death quickly spread online.

But alongside condolences and concern, Bellina’s sister said the family encountered disturbing comments about her.

Some people, she said, were spreading false claims and even suggesting Bellina somehow deserved what happened.

For a family already mourning a violent and sudden loss, those remarks became another source of pain.

Her sister publicly pushed back against them, calling the behavior harassment.

The family’s request was straightforward: allow them to grieve and allow Bellina to rest in peace.

The plea highlighted the difficult intersection between public visibility and private tragedy.

Bellina had shared part of her life with hundreds of thousands of strangers, but her death left the people closest to her dealing with something no social media following could soften.

Behind the profile, videos and follower count was a daughter and sister whose family had expected her to walk back through the door after going out one evening.

She never did.

A Birthday That Will Never Arrive

The timeline between Bellina’s disappearance and her identification unfolded rapidly.

She left home on Aug. 10.

A farm worker discovered the partially burned remains in the Saint-Gilles vineyard on Aug. 12.

By Aug. 19, DNA testing had confirmed her identity, and prosecutors had announced that two men were in custody.

What investigators have not yet publicly explained is how Bellina died, what happened between the evening she disappeared and the discovery of her body, or what evidence ultimately connected the arrested men to the case.

Those questions remain at the center of the continuing murder investigation.

For Bellina’s family, however, the loss has already changed the meaning of the weeks ahead.

Sept. 30 was supposed to mark the beginning of her 30s.

There was supposed to be a party.

Instead, her loved ones are asking strangers to remember that behind a case attracting online attention is a grieving family mourning a woman they expected to celebrate with just weeks later.

As authorities continue working to determine what happened to Sonia Bellina, her family is left with the plans that will never be carried out — and the hope that the investigation will eventually explain why she never came home.