NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) – It has been a week since Miya Marcano was last seen, and the search for the 19-year-old continues.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies continued their search in New Smyrna Beach on Friday.
The search is now centered in a swampy, not easily accessible area off Third Avenue, less than a mile from the shore.
Authorities are searching the area on foot, with drones and in airboats.
Marcano’s family said they were told 27-year-old Armando Caballero’s phone was tracked to the area.
Caballero was a maintenance man at Marcano’s complex who was found dead in a garage at another complex 35 minutes away.
According to investigators, Caballero harassed Marcano, wanting a relationship with her. They also considered him a person of interest after investigators discovered he used a master key to get into Marcano’s apartment around the time she disappeared.
“So as tips and leads and evidence comes in from cellphone records, internet searches, all those things, we immediately send teams out to search those areas,” said Orange County Sheriff John Mina.
The search in New Smyrna Beach is one of dozens spanning across three counties.
Family members and friends have also been helping in the search.
“Some of us are knee-deep in water looking for anything that we could find,” said the victim’s cousin Caili Sue. “Any type of additional evidence can be very helpful.”
Officials said more than 60 detectives are working Marcano’s case with the FBI providing technical support.
Mina said the video of Caballero holding, what Marcano’s family said was the 19-year-old’s blanket, was handed over to detectives almost immediately.
“That video led us to be able to do a search warrant on Caballero’s apartment and vehicle when we found it,” Mina said. “We believe that the suspect that we had named, Armando Caballero, is responsible. We don’t know all the circumstances involved in what happened there. We are going to find Miya, and we’re pouring a lot of resources into this case.”
Family members of Marcano said they have not had any additional updates by authorities in reference to any new evidence.
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