Miya Marcano
The body of a 19-year-old college student whose disappearance in Orange County, Orlando moved millions to sadness was found Saturday morning, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Miya Marcano, age 19 and student at Valencia College, went missing just over a week ago and was found in a wooded area after authorities searched around the Tymber Skan apartments in Orange County, Florida. Sheriff John Mina said the County's Office was certain that the body found was that of Ms. Marcano, though "positive identification will have to come from the medical examiner's office," Mina said.
Ms. Marcano was last seen at the Arden Villas apartments complex in Orlando on Sept. 24.
Officers have notified the victim's family of the discovery, which was made at 10:45 a.m. Saturday. Ms. Marcano's identification was also found near the body, according to Mina.
The Sheriff's Office had requested phone records of the prime suspect in the case, Armando Caballero, 27, a maintenance worker at Arden Villas who was found dead Monday from what police say was a suicide. Caballero was in possession of a key fob to access apartments which was used at Marcano's unit moments before her disappearance, authorities said.
According to authorities, Caballero had expressed romantic interest in Ms. Marcano, but she turned down the advances.
The phone records collected by the Sheriff's Office showed that Caballero was near Tymber Skan apartments around 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. — where he had lived at one point, according to authorities — the day Ms. Marcano went missing.
Sheriff Mina expressed sorrow at the outcome, telling the media during a press briefing announcing the findings, "Our hearts are broken. Everyone wanted this outcome to be different.”
Ties to the USVI and BVI
Ms. Marcano's grandmother is Letty Hodge who is originally from St. Thomas. Letty was married to Bob Hodge from Tortola. They are both well known in the VI for horse racing, according to information provided to the Consortium. Also, Miya's grandmother Letty has family in St. Croix, and Ms. Marcano visits the island often — 3-4 times yearly. She was most recently on St. Croix in June for two weeks. Ms. Marcano has participated in several pageants in the Virgin Islands.
The Caribbean had rallied around the effort to find Ms. Marcano, with the push being amplified in Soca music circles as she was the daughter of a popular Miami-based DJ, Marlon Marcano, also known as DJ Eternal Vibes.
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