Posts Tagged: missing person

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Suspect in Miya Marcano missing person case kills himself

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Family handout

The Orange County Sheriff's Office has confirmed the "person of interest" in the case of a missing 19-year-old college student was found dead of an apparent suicide.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina identified the suspect as Armando Manuel Caballero, 27.

Caballero was wanted for questioning in the search for Miya Marcano who was last seen on September 24 at Arden Villas apartment complex where she lived and worked in Orlando, Florida.

Caballero was found dead in his apartment at a Seminole County apartment complex on Monday, according to Mina. He had been dead "for quite some time".

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Orange County Sheriff's Office

Miya worked in the leasing office at Arden Villas. Caballero began working at the complex as a maintenance man in June.

Sheriff Mina said Caballero was romantically interested in Miya, and she repeatedly rejected his advances.

Mina said Caballero used a "master key fob" to enter Miya's apartment at 4:30 pm, about 30 minutes before she got off work on September 24.

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The petite college student attended Valencia University near the apartment complex. Police say foul play is suspected in her disappearance.

Her apartment showed signs of a struggle and the front door was barricaded from the inside.

Miya went missing hours before she was scheduled to fly to Fort Lauderdale to visit her parents.

An arrest warrant was issued after the complex manager told authorities that Caballero entered Miya's apartment that day without permission.

Marcano's grandmother, Joysue Thompson, told WESH 2 News that Miya was "the family's princess." She said the family believes she's alive and they just want her brought home safe.

"All we ask you is help us bring Miya home. Bring her home safe, just drop her off and let us know where she is and we'll pick her up – just bring her home."

"Our deputies and investigators are working around the clock to find 19-year-old Miya Marcano," Sheriff Mina said in a statement on Facebook.

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Family members say skull found in Gwinnett County Ga is missing SC woman

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Gwinnett County PD

Family members say a skull unearthed in Gwinnett County, Ga. in April was identified as missing 32-year-old Brittany Davis, of Greenville, South Carolina.

Davis went missing on March 7th, 2020, according to her family.

Bridgett Brown, Davis' niece, told Channel 2 Action News the family was initially told by Gwinnett police that a police sketch that resembled Davis was a "stock photo" of a white or Hispanic woman (above left).

Davis's disappearance did not receive press coverage in 2020, so her family and friends took to social media to get the word out.

"You guys my friend is #MISSING & has been since 3/7/2020," family friend Alicia La'Von wrote on Facebook last year.

"We have been friends for over ten years and she is my rock thru so many hard times. When my mom died she came to her funeral and just followed behind me to make sure no one upset me and made things worse...

"She was last seen in San Juan, she loved it there. My country Macon, GA girl living her best island life. Please you guys, Pray and repost. @ all the blogs and send them her picture."

La'Von updated her Facebook post on March 21, 2020 to say Davis was last seen at her residence in Greenville, South Carolina, with her fiancé, Michael Lee Wilkerson.

"She was last seen with this man, who could be in the Atlanta area," she wrote in the caption of photos showing Davis and Wilkerson together.

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Facebook

Gwinnett County police with the help of the U.S. Marshal's Task Force, and the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office arrested Wilkerson during a traffic stop in Buford, Ga. on August 24, 2021, according to WBTW.

Wilkerson was living in Lawrenceville, Ga. at the time of his arrest.

He was extradited to the Greenville County, SC Jail on August 31 and charged with murder. He is being held without bond.

Brown told Channel 2 Action News the family is concerned that the case did not receive enough attention in Georgia, where Wilkerson lived.

Brown said when the family first reached out to Gwinnett County police in response to a police artist sketch that resembled Davis, they were told that the sketch was a "stock photo" and that the skull belonged to a white, mixed race or Hispanic woman.

"We are very thankful that Greenville, SC Detective Nikki Bowdoin was persistent in pursuing the remains with the Gwinnett county police department," Brown told WSB-TV. "Without her, we may have never found out the truth."

Brown is hopeful that someone may know where the rest of Davis' remains can be found so she can receive a proper burial.

"We are hoping that news coverage of what has happened may jog someone's memory here in Gwinnett. Someone may have seen or had dealings with Michael Wilkerson and unknowingly may have details regarding my niece's murder or the dumping of her body.

"His arrest has been on the news in Greenville SC and other news outlets across the US but not here in Gwinnett county where the remains were found, where he lived, and where the arrest took place."

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Jelani Day’s sisters create GoFundMe to raise awareness for their missing brother

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Bloomington PD

Jelani "J.J." Day, a 25-year-old graduate student at Illinois State University, has been missing since August 24.

His family last heard from him on the evening of Monday, August 23, 2021.

Jelani's mother is desperate for answers. "I can't even describe it to you, because it hurts really bad because I don't know where my baby is."

Carmen Bolden Day reported Jelani missing after he failed to show up for classes at ISU. She said she last heard from him on Aug. 23.

"He told me he was going to class and that he would call me later. He called me later on that night. (He) didn’t want nothing, we were just talking. And he said again, 'OK momma, I'll talk to you later. I just wanted to hear your voice.' And that was our last conversation, on Monday the 23rd."

She said Jelani was studying to be a doctor.

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Bloomington PD

Security footage showed Jelani wearing a black Jimi Hendrix Band T-shirt outside a cannabis store in Bloomington around 9:12 a.m. on August 24.

The Bloomington Police Department revealed they have no leads after his Chrysler 300 was found abandoned about 60 miles away in a wooded area near a YMCA.

The clothing Jelani wore outside the cannabis store were found in his car.

A man's body was pulled out of the Illinois River on Sept. 4 in LaSalle County, according to WMBD. Police don't believe the case is linked to Jelani.

The Day family is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to Jelani's whereabouts.

Jelani's sisters, Dacara Bolden and Zena, created a GoFundMe account to raise the reward money.

Nearly $16,000 has been raised of a $1 goal.

"I miss laughing with him," Zena told WAND News.

"Jelani is the one I could tell jokes to, like any joke. It can be anything. It could be a part of a movie. It can just be. We don't even have to talk. We got it. We can already know whats gonna make each other laugh."

"Everything's been hard, but the hardest part is just missing his presence. He's just not there," said Dacara.

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MSNBC’s Joy Reid dismisses Gabby Petito case as ‘missing White woman syndrome’

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Steve Petito /Getty Images

MSNBC host Joy Reid dismissed the news media's intense focus on 22-year-old Gabby Petito as "missing White woman syndrome."

The "Van Life" vlogger was last seen in late August in Grand Teton National Park with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23, who is considered a "person of interest" in her disappearance.

Laundrie returned to his parents' Florida home alone in Petito's van on Sept. 1.

Petito's mother reported her missing on Sept. 11, but Laundrie refused to speak to investigators, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Officials discovered a body "consistent with" Petito inside Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on Sunday, Sept. 19.

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YouTube

During a segment of her show "The ReidOut," the outspoken liberal host discussed the media's coverage of the missing vlogger, and asked "Why not the same media attention when people of color go missing?"

Reid dismissed the focus on Petito's case as the news media placing more emphasis on finding blonde, blue-eyed women who go missing.

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YouTube

Reid said:

"It goes without saying that no family should ever have to endure that kind of pain. And the Petito family certainly deserves answers and justice. But the way this story has captivated the nation has many wondering, why not the same media attention when people of color go missing?"

She added:

"Well, the answer actually has a name: Missing White woman syndrome. The term coined by the late and great Gwen Iffil to describe the media and public fascination with missing White women like Laci Peterson or Natalee Holloway, while ignoring cases involving missing people of color."

Reid was referring to two high-profile cases of blonde women who went missing.

Reid cited statistics from the Black and Missing Foundation that showed more Black women go missing every year than whites -- but they are often classified as runaways.

She concluded her segment by stating that reporters don't cover missing Black women because they don't look like the daughters or granddaughters of news executives.
 

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Body of YouTuber Gabby Petito Found in Wyoming

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YouTube

Officials believe a body found in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, is missing 22-year-old YouTuber Gabby Petito.

An autopsy is currently underway, Teton County coroner Brent Blue confirmed to Fox News Digital. The body was found on Sunday by a search team with the aid of bloodhounds.

Authorities say the human remains fit the description of Petito, whose mysterious disappearance generated headlines all over the world.

The "Van Life" vlogger was last seen in August in Grand Teton National Park with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23, who is considered a "person of interest" in her disappearance.

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YouTube

The couple traveled from New York to Wyoming on a cross-country road trip in August. Laundrie raised suspicion when he showed up alone in Petito's van at his parents' home in Florida on Sept. 1.

Police discovered Petito's 2012 white Ford Transit parked outside the Laundrie home on Sept. 11, after Petito's mother reported her missing.

Laundrie quickly lawyered up and refused to speak to police.

On Friday, Laundrie's lawyer reported him missing. However, Laundrie's family insisted he was "in hiding" due to the growing crowd of news media and curious onlookers outside the Laundrie home.

Laundrie was last seen at the home on Tuesday, Sept. 14.

Inside Edition aired police bodycam footage that shows a distraught Petito moments after a heated argument with Laundrie during their road trip in Utah.

A witness spotted the couple arguing at a grocery store and called 911. Police pulled the van over outside Arches National Park.

"We've just been fighting all morning," Petito said in tears in the bodycam video on August 12. The officer asked her to step out of the van and she complied.
 

 
"I just quit my job to travel across the country, and I'm trying to start a blog — a travel blog. So I've been building my website, so I've been really stressed," Petito said.

"She just gets worked up sometimes," said Laundrie who was observed with fresh scratches on his face.

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YouTube

Petito told the officer she was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder. She said she feared Laundrie was going to drive off and leave her stranded at the grocery store.

Laundrie told the officer she scratched him when he pushed her hand away.

A family of travel vloggers believe they spotted Petito's van parked off the road in Grand Teton National Park on August 27, around the time it is believed Petito went missing.

Jenn Bethune shared footage of the van on YouTube. She spoke with Petito's mom who thanked her on Sunday for sharing the footage.

The video footage was the lead that prompted authorities to search the park for Petito.
 

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Search for missing LSU student ends after body is found in Mississippi River

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Facebook

The search for missing LSU student Kori Gauther has ended after human remains were found in the Mississippi River.

The 18-year-old Louisiana State University student was last seen alive on Tuesday, April 6. Her car was found abandoned around 1 a.m. on April 7, after another car crashed into it on the Mississippi River Bridge.

The abandoned car - with her cell phone and wallet inside - led investigators to speculate that she jumped off the bridge.

The body was found in the Mississippi River in Reserve, Louisiana, about 50 miles southeast of where the searchers were looking for Gauthier.

LSU police said the search focused on the area of the river after a cadaver dog targeted a dangerous stretch of water twice, Fox News reported.

The remains have not yet been identified by the coroner.

Police said late Saturday they do not suspect foul play in Gauthier's disappearance.

Gauthier's family and friends want answers.

The family said she went missing after arguing with her boyfriend, Tyler Toussant. He was the last person to see her alive.

Gauthier's sister defended Toussant in a social media post.

"STOP attacking her boyfriend. He has been in her life for a long time now. The way y’all are attacking him is sick. He is hurting just as much as us. He’s her family too. repost the posts and pass out a flyer and let the police do their job."

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Missing teenager, 18, found dead in swamp; 19-year-old charged with murder

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Sumter County Sheriff's Office

A Florida teenager was found dead in a swamp after his family tracked his iPhone to a nature preserve in Central Florida.

Sumter County officials organized a massive search for 18-year-old Charlie Roberts, Jr., whose phone was tracked to the Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area.

Searchers combed the densely wooded, 50,000 acre swamp that spans three counties.

They used helicopters, ATVs and drones until they found his body Wednesday night, according to People magazine.

Detectives say Roberts was shot to death and his body dumped in the swamp.

On Thursday, detectives arrested David Anthony Gracia, 19, of Lakeland, and charged him with first-degree murder in Roberts' death.

Investigators declined to explain the relationship between Roberts and Gracia.

"I want the person to be prosecuted to the fullest, of course. This was a family member, a child, nobody deserves death," the teen's cousin William Gamble told Fox13.

"What would cause you to want to kill a child? What did he do so wrong that it deserved death... and to be left where he was left at?"

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Police dig up yard around home where two adoptive brothers went missing

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Police in California canvassed an apartment complex where adoptive parents lived before two brothers went missing without a trace.

Trezol and Jacqueline West previously lived at the Casa Loma Apartments in Bakersfield, with their six children, including missing boys, Orson and Orrin West, ages 3 and 4.

Police spoke with neighbors after the family moved to a new home in California City in September. The Wests reported the two boys missing from their home on December 21.

Trezol told police the boys were playing outside when he went to gather firewood at a back gate. His wife was inside the home wrapping gifts, he said.

"I came in the house. I saw them there, went into the house, came back out, didn't see them there," he said.

Police searched the house and dug up the backyard. They said the couple have been cooperative, but there is evidence that the couple know more than what they are saying.

"They did something," said the boy's biological mother, Ryan Dean, who arrived from Bakersfield to help with the search. "I feel like my kids are somewhere around here. I can feel it."

The couple's four other children -- two adopted and two biological -- have been taken into protective custody.

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Investigators Search Florida Landfill for Missing Georgia Mom

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Investigators are searching a South Florida landfill for the remains of Leila Cavett, a missing Georgia mother whose toddler son was found wandering alone in an apartment complex in July.

FBI Special Agent Michael D. Leverock said investigators are searching Pompano Beach's Monarch Hill Landfill on Thursday.

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Cavett was last seen on July 25 on security footage at a RaceTrac gas station in Hollywood, Florida.

Her 2-year-old son, Kamdyn, was found wandering alone in an apartment complex in nearby Miramar on July 26. The boy was barefoot and wearing only a t-shirt and soiled diaper.

A self-proclaimed "witch doctor" Shannon Ryan was arrested and charged with kidnapping and lying to the FBI about Kamdyn.

Investigators found blood droplets and a shovel inside Ryan's gold Lexus. A car identical to Ryan's Lexus was seen on surveillance footage outside the apartment complex just moments before Kamdyn was found by a resident.

Kamdyn remains in foster care while family members go through the legal process to gain custody of him.

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College student, 22, reported missing after going to withdraw money from ATM

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Alabaster PD

A 22-year-old college student was reported missing after he left his dorm room to withdraw money from an ATM machine.

Adam "Belle" Dowdell is a second-year student at Alabama State University in downtown Montgomery.

He left his dorm around 8 p.m. Tuesday to get money from an ATM, but his friends say he never returned.

His mother, Toya Cohill, says Dowdell did not have a car on campus. He left his backpack and cell phone charger and now his phone is dead.

He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, black and white checkered pants and a pair or Air Jordan "Taxi" 12 sneakers.

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"I've slept three hours a day," Cohill said. Cohill and relatives made the 70-mile trip to Montgomery from the Alabaster area, where Dowdell is from.

"He always talks to all of us," she said. "From my mama to my daughter to my son, somebody's going to talk to him every day."

Cohill said she last spoke to her son on Monday, and his siblings spoke with him the following day. But on Wednesday, she got messages from friends saying he hadn't returned to his dorm and no one had heard from him.

"I just want my child back," Cohill said.

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Alabaster PD