'Our Hearts Are Broken': Body Believed to be Missing Teen Miya Marcano Found, Florida Sheriff Says

Authorities in Florida on Saturday announced the discovery of a body believed to be that of 19-year-old college student Miya Marcano, who had been reported missing for over a week.

Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, Sheriff John Mina from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said that as the agency's emergency response team was searching a wooded area near the Tymber Skan apartment complex in Orlando, Florida, they "discovered a body we believe to be that of Miya Marcado" around 10:45 a.m. local time.

Marcano, a student at Valencia College, had been missing since September 24th, when she was last seen at the Arden Villas Luxury Apartments in Orlando where she lived and worked, according to the sheriff's office.

Mina said they used cellphone records to direct them to search for Marcano's whereabouts near the apartment complex in Orlando. The site at which the body was discovered was roughly 20 miles from Marcano's apartment.

BREAKING: Orange County Sheriff John Mina says they have discovered the body of Miya Marcano. Cause of death not determined yet. A tragic end to the search ⁦@fox35orlando⁩ pic.twitter.com/Buf9qWNB1c

— Dave Puglisi (@DavePuglisiTV) October 2, 2021

"Although we are very certain of the identity, the positive identification will have to come from the medical examiner's office. At this time we cannot confirm a cause of death", Mina said. "Everyone wanted this outcome to be different".

"Our hearts are broken", he said.

While the identification has not been confirmed by a medical examiner, a purse belonging to Marcano was said to have been found near the body.

Following the reports of a body having been discovered, Valencia College issued a statement expressing their condolences to the family.

We offer our deepest condolences to the family of Miya Marcano, a Valencia student, whose death was confirmed today by local law enforcement officials. The entire Valencia community is grieving the loss of one of our own.

— Valencia College (@valenciacollege) October 2, 2021

Authorities previously indicated that the prime suspect in the missing persons case was Armando Manuel Caballero, 27, now deceased, a maintenance worker at the Arden Villas apartments who had allegedly harassed Marcano after the teenager "rebuffed" what were said to have been romantic advances.

Deputies earlier obtained a warrant for Caballero's arrest after discovering his forged entry into Marcano's apartment with a master key fob. Officials indicated that he gained entrance the same day she went missing.

Although Caballero was initially considered a person of interest at the start of the investigation, he later became the prime suspect after he was found dead, the sheriff earlier detailed during a Thursday briefing. Authorities said that he had killed himself.