Who killed Miya Marcano? Orlando student's body discovered near suspects's apartment

ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: The body of missing student Miya Marcano was discovered in a wooded area near Tymber Skan apartments in Orange County, where the man suspected of having abducted her once lived. Search crews found her body around 10.45 am on Saturday, September 2, near the dilapidated apartment, Orange County Sheriff John Mina confirmed at a press conference. While her purse has been recovered, police are on the lookout for her keys and two cell phones.

"Our hearts are broken. Hundreds of Orange County Sheriff's Office personnel were committed to this case and working very hard. Everyone wanted this outcome to be different," Mina said. "As a community, as a father, we are grieving the loss of Miya. We can't imagine the pain of Miya's family, loved ones, friends and really our entire community has gone through."

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Miya Marcano was last seen around 5 pm on Friday, September 24, near the University of Central Florida in Orlando, at the Arden Villas apartments on Arden Villas Boulevard. Deputies started searching for Marcano on Sunday, September 26, in the wooded area behind her apartment building. They confirmed that Marcano is 4′9 and about 130 pounds. She was a sophomore at the nearby Valencia Community College and worked in the complex’s onsite leasing office. Marcano's apartment had been found in disorder, with bloodstains on a pillow.

At a press conference on Monday, September 27, police announced that 27-year-old Armando Manuel Caballero, a 'person of interest' in Marcano's death, had died by suicide. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said that Caballero expressed a romantic interest in Marcano, which she repeatedly denied. On Monday, September 27, a maintenance-issued master key fob, which Caballero was known to have, was used to enter Marcano's apartment 30 minutes before the end of her shift. Police issued an arrest warrant for Caballero for burglary related to him entering Marcano's apartment without permission, John Mina said. 

Marcano was scheduled to catch a flight from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale to visit her family on the day she went missing. She never boarded the plane. Marcano's friends and family members held a prayer vigil on September 26 urging the community to come forward and help them find her. The vigil was held at the Arden Villas Apartments, where Marcano was last seen before she went missing. Community members gathered together while Marcano's family urged them to do their bit to help find their daughter.

Marcano's case holds the attention of the Internet as the news comes after another missing woman was found dead. Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old vlogger went missing after going on a cross-country trip with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. After Petito's body was found, Laundrie, who was named a 'person of interest' in the case, went missing, sparking a manhunt for him. His whereabouts are currently unknown.