Update (Oct. 3, 2021): Police in Florida have found the body of Miya Marcano, a college student who went missing last week. According to The Daily Beast, the body of the 19-year-old Valencia College student was found Saturday in a wooded area at the Tymber Skan apartments in Orlando, about 20 miles from the complex where Marcano lived.

Just days prior, police found the body of a person of interest in the case, Armando Caballero, a maintenance worker who’s said to have made advances on the teen, which she rebuffed. 
 
Marcano’s father, Marlon Marcano, wrote a heart-wrenching message on Instagram after police found his daughter’s body.

“My heart is broken!” he wrote. “I need it to be whole again. I must find you soon.”

Orange County Sheriff John Mina said hundreds of officers searched for the teen for days.

“Deputies were covered from head to toe in mud, searching so hard to find her, hoping for a better outcome,” Mina said. “Obviously this is not the update I wanted to give everyone today. Our hearts are broken.”

Police said they have strong evidence to believe  Caballero killed the college student. Investigators suspect Caballero was “trying to throw authorities off the trail” before he took his own life. 

According to police, he used his cellphone data to disguise his location. After looking at his phone records, authorities first focused their search on New Smyrna Beach, north of Orlando. Marcano was later found about 60 miles away. 

Original (Sept. 29, 2021): Valencia College student Miya Marcano, 19, has been missing since Friday, and the person of interest in her disappearance has died from an apparent suicide, NBC News reports. 

In a press conference, Sheriff John Mina of the Orange County Sheriff's Office confirmed 27-year-old Armando Manuel Caballero was found dead at an apartment complex in Seminole County, according to WESH 2. After the body had been found, the sheriff confirmed Caballero had been "dead for quite some time."

Caballero worked maintenance at Arden Villas, an apartment complex where the 19-year-old lived, which is located minutes away from the University of Central Florida. She'd also been working in the complex's leasing office since June. 

Mina confirmed Caballero was known to have a romantic interest in the teenager, with the sophomore rejecting his advances each time.

"He demonstrated a romantic interest in Miya. Miya repeatedly rebuffed this," the sheriff explained.

Investigators learned the 27-year-old had access to a master key to units in the complex, allowing him to enter any apartment within the building. A master key had been used to enter Marcano's apartment on Friday at 4:30 p.m., just 30 minutes before Marcano finished her shift in the leasing office. She was last seen at her home.

A warrant for Caballero's arrest was issued shortly after, alleging burglary.

The teenager's father says he spoke to his daughter Friday afternoon, but didn't receive a call when she left work.

Caballero's vehicle, a silver Ford Fusion, was found at the scene and delivered to the sheriff's office for processing.

Marcano had a flight scheduled for that day but never made it. 

Mina states that the Orange County deputies were actively looking for the suspect this weekend. Mina and Marcano's family suspect foul play.

"Miya is still missing, her disappearance is suspicious, and our detectives and the family members obviously suspect foul play," said Mina. "We are still doing everything possible to find her."

Her family told NBC affiliate WESH she was scheduled to fly home from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale on Friday evening but missed the flight, and they haven't heard from her since, which the family said is unlike her.

"Knowing Miya, she would never not be in contact with them, would never turn off her phone, never let her phone battery drain completely down," Mina said.

Marcano's aunt, Pia Scarbriel Henry, spoke to reporters and directed a message toward her niece.

"Miya, this message is for you. I know you're alive. I know you're out there. We love you," she said. "You know we will not sleep one night until we get you home."

Detectives who have Caballero's vehicle in custody ask anyone within the area to call with any information.

Neighbors of Marcano spoke to authorities this weekend.

"It sent chills down my spine, to be honest, because I didn't know what they were looking for, and yesterday the chopper that's above us now was searching five or six times doing circles around," Juan Castillo, who lives in the area, told WESH 2. 

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