ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — From Central Florida to South Florida, communities have embraced Miya Marcano’s family.
For the first time, they are sharing their story as they grieve the loss and struggle to know a life without their princess.
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“I look at it as a complete and utter nightmare that you don’t get out of every second, every day,” said Miya’s mom, Yma Scarbriel.
READ: Family demands justice after tragic loss of Miya Marcano in Orange County
Scabriel and Miya’s dad, Marlon Marcano have been without their baby girl for more than a month.
“Every time I close my eyes I get visions of what might of happened, what could’ve happened, what did happen,” Marcano said.
They last talked to their daughter on Sept. 24, and had no idea that was the end.
“I said, ‘I love you,’ and 10 minutes later she replied ‘I love you, too,’ and that was the last time,” Marcano said.
Marcano was set to fly home to South Florida from Orlando that evening, but they couldn’t reach her.
The parents said they “just knew” something terrible had happened. The family traveled to Central Florida and searched everywhere nonstop.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said a maintenance worker at Arden Villas Armando Caballero was their person of interest.
READ: Miya Marcano family attorney responds to Orange County Sheriff’s Office’s report
“He hurt my baby I said if he didn’t there was no reason for him to kill himself,” Scabriel said. “We know for a fact he was harassing her but not to a point where she felt threatened, or her life was in danger.”
Marcano’s body was found eight days after she was reported missing.
“People say it may get easier, and I think it’s getting harder because, reality is, that she’s not going to come home,” Scabriel said. “She’s not going to and it makes no sense.”
Read: Newly released documents shed light on Miya Marcano disappearance
She was laid to rest last month and, since then, her dad has gone to visit her gravesite every day.
The family has started the Miya Marcano Foundation to help other families of missing persons.
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