The FBI has made an arrest in connection with the disappearance of a Doral woman and her 8-year-old daughter who vanished in 2016, authorities announced Tuesday.
Liliana Moreno and her daughter Daniela were last seen on May 30, 2016, in or near the Home Depot on Okeechobee Road in Hialeah. At the time of their disappearance, Moreno was 41 years old and Daniela was 8. They haven't been heard from since.
FBI officials confirmed they made an arrest in connection with the disappearance of Moreno and her daughter, but gave no other details.
Liliana Moreno's brother, Eduardo Moreno, told NBC6 that the FBI had told him on Monday that Gustavo Castaño, Liliana's ex and Daniela's father, had been arrested.
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"We were just like family waiting for one day maybe getting the information where my sister and my niece are located because that is our main goal, to know what happened with them, more than looking for a guilty person or somebody that has done something," Eduardo Moreno said Tuesday.
More details were not immediately provided, but Castaño does have an appearance scheduled at 1:30 p.m. in federal court. NBC6 has reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida for further information.
Liliana (r) and Daniela Moreno, a mother and daughter, went missing on 5/30/2016. FBI reward: $25K for information leading to their whereabouts. https://t.co/MdCGbZdcZ1 pic.twitter.com/09E9CfBlJW
— FBI Miami (@FBIMiamiFL) June 1, 2021
Local
Following their disappearance, detectives who searched the Doral home of Liliana Moreno and her daughter found a number of personal belongings and unfinished meal preparations, indicating that Moreno planned to return.
Detectives in 2021 said Castaño went to pick up Moreno and her daughter, and the couple got into an argument. Castaño told detectives he dropped the two off on Turnpike Avenue.
Investigators pointed to Castaño as a person of interest in the case but previously lacked enough information to make an arrest. He was questioned by detectives but never charged.
In 2021, on the five-year anniversary of the disappearance, the FBI announced a $25,000 reward in the case.
Family members who spoke with NBC6 in 2022 said they were holding out hope that Moreno and her daughter would be found safe.
"We pray we're still having hope to find them," Eduardo Moreno said at the time. "That is the last thing you can lose — the hope you can have them again."
This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.
