The body of a missing student has been found just days after the prime suspect in her death killed himself.

Miya Marcano, 19, was found in a wooded area near an apartment building in Orlando, Florida.

She was reported missing on 24 September after she failed to catch a flight home to Fort Lauderdale and stopped responding to her family’s calls and texts.

Police said that Ms Marcano had repeatedly “rebuffed” what were described as romantic advances from Armando Caballero, a maintenance worker in her apartment block.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina said Caballero had been the “prime suspect”.

“He had demonstrated a romantic interest in Miya,” Mr Mina said. “This was repeatedly rebuffed by Miya.

“We believe pretty conclusively that Armando Caballero is responsible for this crime and there is not any other person or persons that we are looking for in this case.”

Caballero, 27, had used a master key to enter Ms Marcano’s apartment unauthorised on the day of her disappearance.

Mobile phone records led police to the apartment complex near where Ms Marcano’s body was found, showing Caballero had been there for about 20 minutes on the night she was reported missing.

Detectives had spoken to Caballero and later obtained a warrant for his arrest but he was found dead inside a garage, apparently having killed himself, three days after her disappearance.

The cause of Ms Marcano’s death has not been made public, with Mr Mina saying he did not want to “speculate”.

He added: “Everyone wanted this outcome to be different.

“As a sheriff, as a father, obviously we are grieving at the loss of Miya.”