Police in Orlando, Florida, have released more information about the case of Miya Marcano, saying the 19-year-old who went missing was found with tape around her wrists, feet and mouth when authorities located her body in a wooded area on Saturday.
Marcano was reported missing on Sept. 24 after family members realized that she never boarded a flight she was supposed to take, WESH reports. While looking for their loved one, the family questioned Armando Caballero, a maintenance employee who expressed a romantic interest in Marcano while working at the apartment where the teen lived. According to a law firm representing the teen's loved ones, the family expressed their concern about Caballero to an officer who was searching the apartment.
"The family questioned Caballero and immediately knew he had something to do with their daughter’s disappearance," the firm stated. "They reported to the deputy who was now on scene that a key fob dropped out of Caballero’s lap as he got out of the car, he had Miya’s blanket and a black backpack in his car and the family caught him in several lies regarding his encounters with Miya. The recently released video shows the deputy politely allowing Caballero to get in his car and leave."
The law firm has also brought accusations against deputies who allegedly laughed and said, "This isn't a high-priority case," when a security guard tried to give them fingerprints he lifted from Marcano's window. Additionally, the apartment officer manager is accused of refusing to show camera footage to the family.
"The family indicated that the way they were treated by the office manager was disheartening, and they felt like she was irritated with their request for help. What’s more disappointing is that the deputy told the family that if they had not heard from their daughter by Tuesday, they would come out and view the cameras and read the key fob," the firm stated.
The City of Pembroke Pines would like to extend our condolences to the family of Miya Marcano.
Miya was a Pembroke Pines resident & graduated from Charles W. Flanagan High School last year. Our thoughts are with her loved ones & the Caribbean community in our city & abroad. pic.twitter.com/DUpFNBxYyD
— City of Pembroke Pines (@cityofppines) October 4, 2021
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said Marcano repeatedly rejected Caballero's romantic interest. The 27-year-old maintenance worker allegedly used a key to access the teen's apartment on the night she disappeared. After the young woman went missing, Caballero was found dead three days later from an apparent suicide.
On Saturday, police found Marcano's body in a wooded area near Tymber Skan Condominiums, the apartment complex where Caballero lived, CBS News reports.
The teen's father, Marlon Marcano, expressed his sorrow on Instagram after police found his daughter’s body, as Blavity previously reported.
“My heart is broken!” he wrote. “I need it to be whole again. I must find you soon.”
