The tragic case of Miya Marcano
Miya’s family held candlelit vigils and prayed for Miya’s safety.
Meanwhile, a body was found in Orlando. The authorities believed it was Miya’s.
“Cell phone records showed us that Miya’s killer was in or near the area on the evening that Miya was reported missing.
We sent search teams out first thing this morning.
That’s when they found what we believe to be Miya.
The decomposed body was found in Orlando in an overgrown brush amongst trash.” The authorities reported.
Miya Was a Nineteen-Year-Old Teenager
Miya Marcano was born on April 26th, 2002.
Her mother was Yma Scarbriel, and her father was Marlon Marcano.
Miya also had one older brother. The Marcano family lived in South Florida, USA. That was until Yma and Marlon divorced. Yma moved to the Virgin Islands.
Meanwhile, Marlon remarried. He stayed with the children and his new wife. Miya grew into a beautiful, confident, ambitious, and smart lady.
She graduated from Flanagan High School and enrolled at Valencia College in Orlando, Central Florida. Miya worked towards attaining an art degree.
Miya Got a Part-Time Job at a Housing Complex
Miya worked part-time.
She was hired in a leasing office in Arden Villas, which was a student housing complex. So Miya got an apartment at the same complex to make things easier for her. Miya left work on September 24th, 2021, hoping to catch a flight home to visit her family.
She went over to her apartment and grabbed her suitcase. But she never made it home. Miya’s family got worried when they couldn’t reach her through calls or messages.
Miya’s flight landed, and there was no sign of her.
So Miya’s family knew that something was wrong.
Miya’s Family Asked for a Welfare Check On Miya
Miya’s family called the police, and they asked for a wellness check to be done on Miya.
So a police officer was dispatched to check Miya’s apartment. The police officer knocked on Miya’s door but got no response. Then he tried to enter Miya’s room.
Miya’s door was unlocked, but something was blocking it from inside.
The police officer went around and peered through the back window of Miya’s apartment. Then he saw a mini dresser right in front of the apartment’s door. He also noticed that the window had been tampered with.
There was jewelry scattered on the floor of Miya’s apartment. He also noticed red stains on Miya’s pillow.
That was enough to convince him that something bad had happened to Miya.
The Police Officer Interviewed Miya’s Friend
The police officer spoke to one of Miya’s friends.
He asked her if there was someone in Miya’s life who had any reason to harm her. Miya’s friend mentioned a maintenance man.
The maintenance man, Armando Caballero, harassed Miya. He often asked Miya out on a date, but she always rejected him.
Armando kept on trying to hit on Mia. Miya even told her family about him. So the police officer left the building equipped with that information. But the authorities took a long time to get back to Miya’s family.
Miya’s family decided to go to Orlando in order to find out what was happening.
They arrived in Orlando and asked for access to Miya’s room. Then, the family entered Miya’s room to investigate on their own. They found a yellow box cutter under a rug that didn’t belong to Miya.
Meanwhile, the maintenance man, Armando, showed up at Miya’s apartment.
The family found that to be very suspicious. Armando showed up at around 4 a.m. while he was off work and had no reason to be there.
Miya’s Family Called an Officer to Come and Help Them
Miya’s family asked for help from a police officer concerning the maintenance man who showed up unannounced.
They knew about Armando’s obsession with Miya. Armando sent Miya crazy texts promising to give her his life savings if she agreed to go out with him.
But the police officer let Armando go because there was no evidence to arrest him. So the family was outraged by the officer’s decision.
They decided to take matters into their own hands. The family secretly followed Armando to his apartment. And they saw something that shocked them as they were watching him.
Armando put on gloves and started taking things out of his car.
One of the things was a pink blanket.
The family immediately recognized the blanket as Miya’s, which meant that Armando was probably the person behind Miya’s disappearance.
Miya’s Family Quickly Called 911
Miya’s family called the police on Armando again.
The police arrived, and they confronted Armando. But they couldn’t search his house since they had no search warrant.
So the police left.
Miya was finally considered a missing person. Her family spread her photos everywhere in the area and on social media. They asked anyone with information about her whereabouts to come forward.
Armando was the only suspect in the disappearance case. An arrest warrant was issued against him. But Armando had also vanished when the police got to his apartment.
The police raided Armando’s apartment. They found a maintenance key that they believed Armando used to open Miya’s door.
Armando Was Found Dead By Hanging
The police received a call that Armando had hanged himself a few days later.
Meanwhile, Miya’s family held onto the hope that Miya was still alive. The search for Mia intensified.
A lot of people volunteered to help the authorities. They searched rivers, lakes, and bushes for any sign of Miya. And the FBI also got involved.
The investigators tracked Armando’s footsteps on the day that Miya disappeared. They found out that he had visited a place called Tymber Skan in Orlando.
The Police Searched Tymber Skan
The authorities sent a search team to the area.
Miya’s body was found hidden in a wooded area in Tymber Skan on October 2nd, 2021. Miya’s hands and feet were bound with duct tape, and her mouth was covered with duct tape.
Her purse was also found near her body.
She was partially dressed in her jeans, a bra, and a robe.
The medical examiner couldn’t determine how she really died due to the level of decomposition of Miya’s body.
The Aftermath
The police notified Miya’s parents of the tragic news. Miya’s family held an emotional vigil in Miya’s honor.
The family stated;
“We’re broken. Our family isn’t cool anymore. She was a baby and they took her from us.”
Miya was killed for rejecting a man that she didn’t love.
Sources:abcnews, anna solves, Dailymail