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Brother Appeals For Help In Disappearance Of Sister, Niece As Police Release New Details

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DORAL (CBSMiami) -- It is a case that has haunted both Miami-Dade Police detectives and loved ones, the disappearance of Liliana Moreno and her 8-year-old daughter Daniela from Doral two and a half years ago.

Now, CBS4's Peter D'Oench is learning from Liliana's brother as well as the supervisor of detectives in the case that there is now "just one person of interest" in this case and that person is the father of the missing child.

Liliana and Daniela Moreno had lived together in a condominium at N.W. 50th St. and 107th Ave. They were last seen in Doral on Memorial Day of 2016. Police presume they are no longer alive.

Liliana's brother is looking for answers.

"We want to know where they are. We want to know what happened. It is not normal that a kid go missing and we don't have anything," said Eduardo Moreno.

Liliana was 42 when she was last seen and was devoted to her daughter.

"She was a great person and smart," said Eduardo Moreno. Daniela was eight when she disappeared.

Liliana and Daniela Moreno
Liliana Moreno and her 8-year-old daughter Daniela, have been missing since May 2016. (Source: Doral Police Department)

Moreno and her daughter were last seen in Doral at 11 in the morning on May 30 of 2016.

The following night a worried sister from Colombia called police. They found the front door of Moreno's Doral condominium locked. Her passport, driver's license, credit and debit cards were there along with her car in the parking lot. Her brother Eduardo moved here from Colombia to monitor the case.

"We need help from the community to see if there are any leads from them," he said.

Friends and loved ones have passed out flyers. Miami-Dade Police using dogs have scoured land and water. Loved ones even returned to South Florida from Colombia to plead for the community's help.

Sgt. Douglas McCoy of Miami-Dade Police said his detectives have been on their own mission, even checking driver's license databases and looking for new bank accounts.

"We even checked the border patrol to see if there were any signs of her leaving the country," he said. "There were no signs of either one of them."

McCoy told D'Oench there is only one person of interest, 50-year-old Gustavo Castano who is Daniela's father and Liliana's ex-boyfriend.

"He was the last person to see them alive," said McCoy. "That comes from an interview with him that he picked both Liliana and Daniela up the last time they were seen and claims to have driven them to an area in Medley."

Castano told detectives he dropped them off near a Home Depot off Okeechobee Road near the Turnpike. It is the same area where Miami-Dade Police confronted a suicidal Castano in his rental truck after he stabbed himself in the neck. Police used a Taser on his face and he lost his right eye. Police say Castano has told them he had nothing to do with the disappearance of Liliana and Daniela.

McCoy is skeptical.

"I can tell you that the story he did provide us, we can tell you that we have been able to prove that what he said did occur did in fact not occur," said McCoy.

Eduardo Moreno said Castano has never helped search for the Liliana and Daniela.

"Gustavo hasn't said anything," said Moreno. "He never did anything to find them. He was the last person to see my sister and my niece. I know he knows more and can help us."

Castano was not at his West Miami-Dade home when CBS4 checked. By telephone, he referred CBS4 to his attorney Michael Grieco.

Grieco said he stands by his previous statements about Castano.

On June 6 of 2016, he told CBS4, "My client wants to see Daniela and Liliana home safe. He obviously maintains his innocence. It seems like law enforcement has him in the public eye. He wants nothing more than to see the two back home safe."

Police said there have been no sightings of Liliana and Daniela since they disappeared. Moreno and McCoy hope this case can be solved.

McCoy said, "We always rely on the community to help us out. We have conducted a very thorough investigation."

Eduardo said, "I need to know what happened to my sister and my niece. I can't close this episode without knowing what happened to her and to find her it will be complete."

CBS4 has learned that before Castano stabbed himself in the neck, he wrote three letters to his family members. McCoy said he could not reveal what was in those letters.

Eduardo Moreno says he will not rest until the case is solved. He said his family is offering a $20,000 reward in this case.

Anyone with information should call Miami-Dade Police.

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