Florida Cops Searching For Missing College Student After Discovering Bloodstains On Her Pillow, As Person Of Interest Is Found Dead By Apparent Suicide
Sept. 27 2021, Published 3:16 p.m. ET
Florida cops are searching for a missing 19-year-old college student after discovering signs of a violent struggle inside her empty bedroom.
Miya Marcano, who attends Valencia College in Orlando, is believed to have vanished from the Arden Villas apartment complex near the University of Central Florida's campus, where she lives and works in the leasing office.
She was last seen there on Friday at around 5 PM local time.
According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Miya missed a flight bound for her hometown of Fort Lauderdale that night. Her father, local DJ Marlon Marcano, grew worried when he never got a text from his daughter confirming that she was on the airplane.
Since then, deputies have searched inside, outside and around Arden Villas, noticing that someone had blocked the door to her bedroom. Once inside, they observed that the room was in disarray and her bedroom window had been left unlocked.
Most notably, they discovered bloodstains on her pillow.
During a press conference on Monday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina announced that a person of interest in Miya's disappearance, 27-year-old Armando Manuel Caballero, had been found dead from an apparent suicide.
Armando worked as a maintenance man at Arden Villas and reportedly expressed romantic interest in Miya, which the teenager is said to have rejected repeatedly.
Mina said that a maintenance-issued master key fob, which Caballero was known to have, was used to enter Marcano's apartment a half hour before her shift ended.
Police had issued an arrest warrant for Caballero for burglary prior to learning of his death.
Miya's dad had previously told his social media followers that "there were signs of struggle" inside Miya's apartment and that "she may be in danger."
"Mimi, my heart is aching. I haven't slept or eaten in days. Where are you baby??? Your whole family is here looking for you," he posted Sunday in an impassioned plea directed at his daughter. "We will not stop until you're back home."
"I'm slowly losing my mind over here," added the desperate dad. "Never have we ever gone so long without even a text message to each other. If your [sic] able to read this message, please know that your Daddy and the entire world loves you. Please don't lose faith. We will find you…. I love you always and forever!"
Her grandmother and aunt have echoed similar sentiments, begging anyone with knowledge to help "bring her home."
Miya is described as a 19-year-old Black female with brown hair and green eyes. She is said to be 5 feet tall and weighs around 130 pounds.
The sheriff's office and Marcano family are urging anyone with information about her whereabouts to call 407-836-4357.
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Miya went missing as the heartbreaking case of Gabby Petito continues to unfold.
As RadarOnline.com has previously reported, the 22-year-old vlogger's death by homicide following a mysterious disappearance while on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé-turned-"wanted" "person of interest," 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, has garnered nationwide attention.
He is now nowhere to be found.
