ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County deputy and his supervisor were suspended for how they handled the investigation into the disappearance of 19-year-old Miya Marcano, according to new reports.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office told WKMG and The Orlando Sentinel, that those deputies violated department policies and that higher-ups recognized "a lack of urgency" by the investigating deputy.
It stems from when the officer first went to investigate Marcano’s apartment after her family reported her missing in September.
The report by the sheriff’s office found Deputy Samir Paulino failed to report certain details, like blood being found on her pillow and signs of distress to his supervisor, leading to Marcano being identified as a “voluntary missing person” rather than a “missing endangered person.”
Paulino received a 150-hour unpaid suspension as discipline, his supervisor Cpl. Kenneth Dale received a 10-hour unpaid suspension.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina told the Sentinel the agency is in the process of making changes to its policy to direct first-responding deputies to immediately notify their supervisors.
In response to the investigation report, Marcano family attorney Daryl K. Washington told WKMG, "The Investigation Report only confirmed what Miya’s father has said since she was discovered missing; they were not taken seriously. If the pleas of the family were taken seriously, the outcome of the case would have been much different.”
Washington said if the deputy on scene listened to the family, they wouldn't be stuck living with questions for the rest of their life.
"I think things would have been different if the apprehended Caballero and he didn’t commit suicide," Washington stated. "He would have been able to answer a lot of questions the family has today."
Marcano’s body was found bound in a wooded area a week after she was reported missing. Investigators say she was killed by apartment maintenance worker Armando Caballero, who was reported to have been seen letting himself into her apartment with a master key.
After being named a person of interest, Cabello died by suicide.
Last month Governor Ron DeSantis signed “Miya’s Law,” which mandates background checks for building workers and requires landlords to give tenants a 24-hour notice for repairs, among other measures meant to improve renter safety.