ORLANDO, Fla. — Family and friends of Miya Marcano came together at her apartment in Orlando for a candlelight vigil Saturday after her body was found in a wooded area earlier in the day.
More than a dozen people showed up with flowers, balloons and candles.
There were songs played and prayers spoken.
Some who knew Marcano best said on the microphone, this may not have been the outcome they wanted, but were grateful she was found.
Marcano’s cousin, Caili Sue, also shared the heartbreak at the vigil, but expressed regret and frustration.
"I’ve been here since day one. I’m angry we didn’t find her on our own. We didn't find her okay and well," said Sue. "I don’t know how we are going to overcome this one. We’ve experienced a lot of family losses. Not one like this before."
Orange County Sheriff John Mina made the announcement of Marcano’s body after the emergency response team were doing a walk-thru at a complex called Tymber Skan on the Lake Condominiums Saturday morning. Authorities said the suspect in the case, Armando Caballero, 27, used to live there.
"Cell phone records showed us that Caballero was in or near the Tymber Skan Apartments on Friday evening between 8 and 9 o'clock the evening that she was reported missing,” said Mina. “He was there for about 20 minutes and nothing in the records indicate that he ever returned there.”
Sheriff Mina said a purse was found next to the body that had Marcano’s ID and at this time they cannot determine the cause of death.
"There’s still an autopsy that needs to be done. We will be able to piece together I think exactly what happened," said Mina. "I do think that he was trying to throw authorities off the trail by going all over the place by going up to New Smyrna Beach, maybe in an effort to possibly get away with this before he took his own life."
Crews searched for Marcano for several days after she was reported missing from her Arden Villas apartment on September 24.
Sue said they wanted people to remember her as a vibrant college student and who aspired to work in sports medicine.
"I was kind of just figuring we would just find her somewhere. She might just be a little bit hurt or broken, whatever, but we could fix her," said Sue. "We would have done everything we could have done to fix her."
Sheriff Mina said they are not looking for any other people and believe Armando Caballero is the sole person responsible for this crime.
He added they will focus a lot on the autopsy and completing their timeline of events in the case.