OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – New images released by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office are the latest to come out of the search for Paola Miranda-Rosa, who has been missing since Dec. 18.
The sheriff’s office released video and two photos Wednesday taken by hikers of a woman wading in the Wekiva River on that day. The agency said family members believe Miranda-Rosa is in the images.
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Sheriff Marcos Lopez said the agency released the video in hopes that anyone else who may have seen Miranda-Rosa comes forward with more information.
“Maybe someone else in the park saw her in a different area of the water and they can say ‘Hey, we’ve got some video of her too here,’ and maybe it will lead us in a different direction,” Lopez said. “That was the last known video of her alive in that water, that doesn’t go to say that she couldn’t have come out, walked somewhere else.”
Members of the sheriff’s office will be searching the area at Wekiwa Springs State Park Thursday, including Sheriff Lopez.
“We want to give about a four and a half, five mile up the river and then back to see if it sheds light on anything,” Lopez said.
Miranda-Rosa’s car was found at Wekiwa Springs State Park on Dec. 22, but since then no other information into the missing woman’s whereabouts had been released by investigators.
The sheriff’s office has acquired a high-intensity camera system to search hard-to-reach areas of the river that can’t be explored with regular scuba divers and equipment, which the sheriff’s office will use to search up and down the river, according to Sheriff Lopez.
“We’ll take this pontoon boat, go over about halfway in there, take the camera system and scour it and take a look,” Lopez said. “Today’s a good, clear day to do this.”
Among those searching is the Miya Marcano Foundation, a group founded by the 19-year-old’s family following her death and dedicated to providing resources to families of people who are missing.
Official said Miranda-Rosa was last seen wearing blue jean shorts and a green or white shirt. She is described as being 4 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing 145 pounds. She has red hair and brown eyes.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said Miranda-Rosa, who has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, has made threats to harm herself in the past but did not threaten self-harm recently.
Officials said they are currently searching for her at the Wekiwa Spring State Park and the surrounding area in Orange County.
Anyone with information is asked to call 407-348-2222 or 911.