Miya Marcano update – Orlando search on after girl went missing from Arden Villas & suspect Armando Caballero’s suicide

DEMANDING THE SAME ATTENTION AS GABBY PETITO

People are calling for the same media attention for Miya Marcano that Gabby Petito received after being reported missing on September 11, 2021.

One social media user said: “Praying #MiyaMarcano is found safe. She needs to be a subject of podcasts, tv specials, and ALL THAT until she’s found. Keep the same energy y’all did with #GabbyPetito and make this young woman trend until she is FOUND. If you saw something, say something!!”

Another added: “Sure hope the national media devotes as much attention and non-stop coverage to finding this other missing Florida woman, as they did to #GabbyPetito.”

TIMELINE OF DISAPPEARANCE

Here’s the timeline for Miya Marcano’s disappearance.

VIGIL FOR MIYA

Family and friends of the missing teen also held a vigil for her outside of her apartment on September 26.

Westmaas told the Orlando Sentinel that the family wouldn’t be leaving the city “without answers” and until they “bring Miya home.”

“Keep Miya in your prayers,” Westmaas said.

“Don’t give up on Miya. I believe Miya is alive.”

WHY WOULD CABALLERO HAVE BEEN AT MARCANO’S APARTMENT?

Armando Manuel Caballero was a maintenance man at the Arden Villas Apartments where Miya Marcano lived.

CABALLERO ASKED ABOUT MARCANO GOING MISSING BEFORE IT WAS MADE PUBLIC

Miya’s family has been searching for her around the clock for the last six days but they’ve yet to yield any concrete leads.

They first arrived at Miya’s Orlando apartment block early Saturday morning and as the family was waiting for police to arrive, Miya’s aunt Semone Westmaas spoke with Caballero outside.

“He was trying to leave. His lights were off. He said, ‘Are you looking for Miya?’ I said, ‘Who are you?’”

“He said, ‘I’m the maintenance guy. I heard you’re looking for me,’” said Westmaas.

“I didn’t know who this guy was at the time.”

Caili said the family found the encounter “weird” because they hadn’t yet publicized that Miya was missing.

WHO IS MIYA MARCANO’S DAD?

Marlon Marcano is the father of Miya and goes by the name DJ Eternal Vibes.

He is based in Florida.

The dad said he spoke to his daughter on the afternoon of Friday, September 24, but has not heard from her since.

He posted a plea for help on his Instagram account, where he regularly shares updates of the case.

WHO IS MIYA MARCANO’S MOM?

Giselle Suling Marcano is Marlon Marcano’s partner with whom she shares a son, Marlon Marcano Jr. aka Munchie.

She is the bandleader, radio character, and Cultural Ambassador for the Caribbean.

She has been regularly posting about Miya’s disappearance on her Instagram account as well.

In one of her posts she wrote: “Baby girl, you know… Miya is loved beyond measure. You see us. You see her….”

“This is a piece of our world that’s missing… I AM BEGGING EVERYONE TO PLEASE SAY SOMETHING…. DO SOMETHING… PRAY!!!!!!!!

“Come home Mimi please please please…. Oh Dear God, you alone know… My babies are hurting…”

FRIEND OF MIYA’S SHARES PLEA TO FIND HER

A friend of Miya Marcano’s recently shared a plea to find the 19-year-old on Twitter.

“PLEASE help us find my friend,” she wrote. “There were signs of a struggle within her bedroom & we are very worried about her safety.”

LICENSE PLATE OF CAR MATCHES THAT OF ONE TAKEN FROM CABALLERO’S APARTMENT

The license plate of the car seen in the video footage that seems to show Caballero taking gloves, a pink blanket, and a black backpack out of his car before walking into a building matches the plate of the car towed away from Caballero’s apartment on Monday.

Police have not yet returned a request for comment on the footage.

WHERE WAS MIYA LAST SEEN?

According to the Arden Villas’ social media post, Miya was ” last seen wearing the red shirt (seen on the second slide) as well as jeans and a black hoodie.”

On the day she was reported missing, Marcano was scheduled to take a flight to Fort Lauderdale later in the evening to visit her family but never boarded the plane.

Those with information are asked to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Officer at 407-836-HELP (4357).

WHO WAS ARMANDO MANUEL CABALLERO, CONTINUED

Sheriff Mina added that on September 27, 2021, a key fob — that Caballero was known to have — was used to enter the teen’s home, 30 minutes before the end of her shift.

Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Caballero for burglary related to him entering Marcano’s apartment without permission.

WHO WAS ARMANDO MANUEL CABALLERO?

Armando Manuel Caballero, 27, was a maintenance man at the Arden Villas Apartments where Marcano lived.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina, said Caballero expressed a romantic interest in the teenager which she repeatedly did not reciprocate.

ONGOING INVESTIGATION

The investigation of Marcano’s disappearance continues.

Sheriff Mina said: “Her disappearance is suspicious and our detectives and the family members obviously suspect foul play.

“We are still doing everything possible we can to find her.”

WHAT WAS CABALLERO’S CAUSE OF DEATH?

On Monday, September 27, 2021, during a press conference, police announced that Caballero was found dead from an apparent suicide.

The maintenance worker had been named as a person of interest in the missing teen’s case.

WHERE HAVE AUTHORITIES LOOKED FOR MIYA?

On Sunday, September 26, WFTV9 reported that deputies started searching for Marcano in the wooded area behind her apartment complex.

The media outlet contacted her parents but were told that authorities have advised them not to speak about her disappearance since this is still an ongoing investigation.

‘SHE IS WELL LOVED’

People continue to react to Miya being missing on social media as the investigation into her disappearance continues.

HELP FROM TWITTER

Others have since taken to Twitter to try and find her as quickly as possible.

A user who goes by the name Jasmine, tweeted her photo along with the caption “PLEASE help us find my friend,” while another user added, “My heart hurts #FindMiyaMarcano#MiyaMarcano you have an army behind you ! I hope you’re fighting and staying strong just like we are trying to bring you home sweet face, we LOVE YOU!”

WHAT HAVE PEOPLE SAID ABOUT MIYA’S DISAPPEARANCE?

On September 25, Asia Owens, a resident at the apartment complex, revealed to NBC affiliate WESH that there have been multiple concerns about the safety of the complex.

“A big issue that people who recently moved in have had is that the gate that we have is not always closed and people would like it to always be closed,” she told the media outlet. “I think especially after this, I would agree with them on that.”

SICK OBSESSION, CONTINUED

Speaking to The Sun, Miya’s cousin, Caili Sue, said Caballero was “obsessed” and “infatuated” with the teen, and was “constantly texting her” – despite Miya making clear she wasn’t romantically interested in him.

“A couple of her friends reached out to me as we were on our way to Orlando to find her,” Caili said.

“They mentioned there was a male maintenance worker at her building that had been making her feel uncomfortable.”

Caili said her cousin never shared any of Caballero’s messages with her directly nor spoke of any acts of behavior that made her feel uncomfortable.

“But she did share some with the two friends who reached out to me, and they’ve shared them with the police,” she said.

SICK OBSESSION

Family members of missing Miya Marcano have recounted a chilling interaction they shared with the “prime suspect” in her disappearance just hours after she vanished.

Miya, a 19-year-old sophomore at Valencia College, was last seen at around 5pm on Friday at the Arden Villas apartment complex in Orlando, Florida where she lives and works.

The prime suspect in the case, Armando Manuel Caballero, a 27-year-old maintenance employee at the complex, was found dead from an apparent suicide on Monday.

According to police, Caballero had repeatedly expressed “romantic interest” in Miya prior to her disappearance – unwanted advances that were routinely rebuffed by the teen.

He was also known to be in possession of a master key that was used to enter her apartment at 4.30pm on Friday, around 30 minutes before Miya finished work and was last seen.

LAST SEEN ON SEPTEMBER 24

Miya had been working her regular 9am-5pm shift at the leasing office of Arden Villas on the day she disappeared, according to investigators.

Miya’s father Marlon Marcano said in a post on Instagram that he had spoken to his daughter on Friday afternoon but never heard from her once she finished work.

At around 4.30pm, 30 minutes before Miya was due to finish her shift, a maintenance master key fob was used to enter her apartment.

CABALLERO’S PHONE PINGS

Police were able to get two pings from Caballerro’s phone at some point after Miya disappeared: one in New Smyrna Beach and one at Lake Monroe.

A dive team was dispatched to Lake Monroe on Thursday while Caili and a group of other family members handed out flyers in New Smyrna.

The family has called on the FBI to come in and assist with the investigation.

MIYA’S COUSIN BELIEVES SHE’S ALIVE

Miya Marcano’s cousin, Caili Sue, told The Sun that she believes Miya was abducted and is being held captive somewhere.

“She’s alive, but I think it’s possible that she could be tied up or something like that,” she said.

“But I know that she knows we’re nearby and out looking for her. I feel like she can probably feel our presence in the area.”

CABALLERO IS ‘PRIME SUSPECT’ IN MARCANO CASE

On Thursday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina publicly declared Armando Caballero the “prime suspect” in the case.

“At this time we don’t believe there was another person involved,” Mina said, adding that 60 detectives are currently working “exclusively” on the case.

‘WEIRD ENCOUNTER’ WITH CABALLERO

As Miya’s family was waiting for police to arrive at the Orlando complex, Miya’s aunt Semone Westmaas encountered Caballero outside.

“He was trying to leave. His lights were off. He said, ‘Are you looking for Miya?’ I said, ‘Who are you?’”

“He said, ‘I’m the maintenance guy. I heard you’re looking for me,’” said Westmaas.

“I didn’t know who this guy was at the time.”

Caili said the family found the encounter “weird” because they hadn’t yet publicized that Miya was missing.

Miya’s father, Marlon Marcano, also approached Caballero and asked if he’d been in contact with his daughter.

Caili said Caballero was acting skittish and seemed “quite nervous”.