ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s been nearly a week since Miya Marcano disappeared from the Arden Villas apartment complex near the University of Central Florida. Read updates below:
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LIVE UPDATES: Miya Marcano search continues in New Smyrna Beach
11:30 p.m. update
The search for Miya Marcano stretched into Volusia County Thursday as Orange County deputies investigated an area off of Highway A1A in New Smyrna Beach.
The search has been suspended for the day and will resume first thing Friday morning.
While some relatives were at the search site, others gathered at Marcano’s apartment complex in Orlando for a candlelight vigil, lighting up the evening sky as the sun set on another day of searching.
Their faith is unwavering. 🙏🏻💙#MiyaMarcano’s family shining the light once again to bring her home.
— Alexa Lorenzo (@ALorenzoTV) September 30, 2021
Loved ones praying together tonight and refusing to lose hope. @WFTV pic.twitter.com/jmWugwkg1H
“We need closure, regardless of what it is. We need closure. I don’t know what life would be for, never knowing where she is at,” Marcano’s grandmother Violet Delville said Thursday.
It’s been a tragic family reunion as loved ones from New York, Los Angeles, The Virgin Islands, and Trinidad have traveled to Central Florida to help with the search for Miya.
“So much people love Miya, and I know a lot of people are with us, and we come here to ask for prayer to bring Miya home,” Delville said.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina says he has 60 detectives exclusively dedicated to the search.
“I just want her to come home...just come home,” Delville said. “We are looking, and we will never stop, no matter what.”
The sheriff’s office also issued a warning Thursday about a fraudulent fundraising attempt posted to social media that claims to be for Marcano’s family. The family has confirmed it’s not official.
ALERT! This is a fraudulent post from someone looking to take advantage of the #miyamarcano case and take kind people’s money. Miya’s family has confirmed this is #fraud. DO NOT DONATE. #SCAMALERT pic.twitter.com/Ocf10pH2uC
— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) September 30, 2021
Another candlelight vigil was also held Thursday night in South Florida. at Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines where Miya attended.
6:40 p.m. update
In March, the primary suspect in Miya Marcano’s disappearance was accused of throwing something through a woman’s window after she turned him down for a date.
It happened in the same complex near Longwood where Armando Caballero was found dead on Monday.
READ: Suspect in Miya Marcano case previously accused of throwing weight through woman’s window
5 p.m. update
Sheriff John Mina switched from calling Armando Caballero the person of interest to the prime suspect in Miya Marcano’s disappearance.
He said they are continuing to try to figure out what happened, why it happened and where Miya is.
He said at this point more than 175 law enforcement officers have done a total of 30 searches spanning three counties searching for clues in the case.
READ: Miya Marcano case: A timeline of her disappearance
3:45 p.m. update
Maracano’s cousins said they are going to search for Miya wherever the tips and leads take them.
Marcano’s cousin Caili Sue said she feels in her heart Miya is still alive.
Sue said she believes Miya was kidnapped, is alive and that she is waiting to be found and brought home to them.
“We go based off of our gut senses and none of us have had that feeling that she is no longer with us, and we feel that she’s sending us signals,” Sue said. “Whether it be when there’s certain little memories that have been coming up or situations that happen, making eye contact with people at the same time.”
Adriana Sue, Miya’s cousin and godmother, said the 19-year-old Valencia College student was still trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.
“Since she was born, she has been a shining light in her entire family’s life. She’s funny, she’s goofy, she is silly,” Adriana said. “She is very, very family oriented. She loved her family and her family loved her back.”
2:55 p.m. update
The family of Miya Marcano is set to speak at any moment from the apartment complex where the 19-year-old went missing.
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2:30 p.m. update
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said the FBI has joined in the investigation into the disappearance of 19-year-old Miya Marcano.
“Hundreds of sworn and civilian personnel are working around the clock to use all resources at our disposable to find Miya,” Mina said.
Photos: Candlelight vigil for missing teen Miya Marcano
He said the FBI is mainly helping with the technological investigation into the case.
Deputies said emergency response teams have done 30 searches across Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties.
READ: Miya Marcano case: A timeline of her disappearance
Mina said a search was made at the person of interest’s home, Armando Caballero, within 24 hours of Marcano being reported missing.
Caballero was found dead on Monday.
1:30 p.m. update
Orange County Sheriff John Mina is set to provide an update on the search for Miya Marcano at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
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12:15 p.m. update
Rep. Darren Soto said he reached out to the FBI to assist in the search for Marcano.
The FBI told him it is reaching out to the local field office regarding the case.
Soto said the FBI should assist in the search because Marcano could have been brought across state lines.
UPDATE: @FBI has informed us they are reaching out to our local field office regarding the Miya Marcano case today.
— Rep. Darren Soto (@RepDarrenSoto) September 30, 2021
12:05 p.m. update
Family and friends are searching for Marcano in New Smyrna Beach.
Family members told Channel 9 that they got word the person of interest’s phone pinged in New Smyrna Beach after Marcano was reported missing.
It has not been confirmed by law enforcement officials.
The person of interest, Armando Caballero, was found dead on Monday.
Day 6 of the search for #MiyaMarcano.
— Alexa Lorenzo (@ALorenzoTV) September 30, 2021
Family & friends looking in New Smyrna Beach today.
They say they got word the person of interest’s phone pinged in that area after Miya was reported missing.
That has not been confirmed by law enforcement.
POI was found dead Monday. pic.twitter.com/qjLeo1m55a
11:25 a.m. update
The search for Marcano continues in Orange and Seminole counties.
A dog trained in search and rescue is assisting in the search.
Echo and his handler drove from North Carolina o help in the search for Marcano.
This is Echo. He’s trained in search and rescue. Echo and his handler drove down from North Carolina to help in the search for #MiyaMarcano. It’s been nearly one week since she disappeared. @WFTV pic.twitter.com/OdN9F3iidj
— Christy Turner (@CTurnerWFTV) September 30, 2021
5:30 a.m. update
Marcano’s family is growing frustrated, but they are holding out on hope.
“We are just ready to bring her home,” a family member said. “We need everyone’s help. We need every resource at this point.”
READ: Miya Marcano’s family calls for FBI to help with search for missing 19-year-old
Skywitness 9 flew over the apartment complex on Wednesday as law enforcement officers were combing for clues, searching what appeared to be storage units.
The person of interest in the case, Armando Caballero, took his own life when the search heated up.
He was a maintenance worker at the complex.
Photos: Candlelight vigil for missing teen Miya Marcano
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Investigators said Cabellero used a master key fob to break into Marcano’s apartment shortly before she disappeared, leading to suspicions.
READ: Miya Marcano case: A timeline of her disappearance
“Miya’s bed is always made up. Everything is in place. She has everything set up a certain way, and when we got there it was in a mess,” a family member said.
Almost a week has passed with no sign of Marcano.
“I’m calling on the FBI, the family is calling on the FBI and we want more resources,” Semone Westmaas said.
Cellphone video provided to Eyewitness News shows a man believed to be Caballero at the apartment complex, carrying items similar to the ones owned by Marcano the day after she disappeared.
Crews will be searching storage units on Thursday.
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