Lorain families still hoping for answers, five weeks after loved ones disappearance

LORAIN — Families of two young adults still are awaiting answers as to the pair's disappearance. Alaina Camacho, 18, and Nathan Orona, 20, last were seen leaving Orona's apartment in Sheffield Township on Feb. 1. In the more than five weeks since, the families have had no news on the pair's whereabouts. During a news conference Friday morning at Sacred Heart Chapel in South Lorain, Councilman Rey Carrion, D-6th Ward, implored community members to keep an eye out for the pair, and report any information to either the Lorain County Sheriff's Office or Cleveland Police Department. "The message that we want to send and hopefully this message will reach Alaina and Nathan is to let them know that their community and that their families will continue to look for them and we will not stop looking for them until we find them," he said. Alaina Camacho's uncle, Albert Camacho, of Lorain, spoke on behalf of both families Friday morning. His hands visibly shaking as he gripped the lectern in the church gym, Camacho said the families cannot accept that their loved ones remain missing. "They weren't in any trouble with anybody that I know of. It's just unbelievable that this is happening," he said. "This shouldn't happen. We shouldn't be here doing this. But we are and we're going to continue to do this until we bring them home safe and alive." His niece had moved to Cleveland about three weeks prior to her disappearance. He described her as a tough but good girl who had no reason to leave home. At a search on Feb. 27, Orona's aunt, Jennifer Sanabria, said her nephew was working "getting his life together" and obtaining his GED. Camacho reportedly grew up in Lorain, and she and Orona became friends while in school and were not romantically involved at the time of their disappearance. She had driven from the Kinsman neighborhood in Cleveland to Sheffield Estates apartments, picking up Orona about 1:40 a.m. Orona's grandmother, Muneca Figueroa, previously stated snow obscuring the surveillance footage from the night the pair went missing made it unclear as to whether Orano got into the front or back seat of the car. The car, a gold 2004 Ford Accord missing the front bumper with license plate GTD9555, last was seen turning left on O'Neill Boulevard toward Elyria Avenue. Family members previously speculated they would have needed to stop for gas as Camacho was driving on a near-empty tank. "We don't know if they made it out of Lorain, we don't know if they made it to Cleveland," Albert Camacho said. A search is slated for Sunday afternoon, with volunteers on ATVs and dirt bikes going deep into wooded areas throughout Lorain, Camacho said. They have worked with Lorain police to be able to search abandoned properties, suspecting their loved ones, or the car, could be hidden in an alleyway, garage or house. They also will search along the Black River beneath the Henderson Bridge. A reward fund, now at $3,000 via three anonymous $1,000 donations, has been established, Carrion said, and they are hoping to collect additional money to be able to incentivize individuals to come forward with solid information. "This community in Lorain is very close, very tightknit. … We're asking you to do the right thing, to do the right thing for Nathan and Alaina and their families," Carrion said. Many of the tips the families have received have been unreliable — rumors circulated about the car being on the city's west side, for example — and all have been false. The families have also received ransom calls from out of state that are considered to be a hoax, Carrion said. Cleveland police and Lorain County Sheriff's deputies are working with the FBI and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on the search, Carrion said. "My family and Nathan's family, all we're asking is that we get some leads and those leads lead us to bringing them back home," Camacho said. "That's all we can do is continue to have faith and see what happens, the outcome of the investigation." Alaina "Alice" Camacho is described as a 5-foot, 3-inch-tall Hispanic woman with brown eyes and brown hair. She weighs about 140 pounds. She was last seen wearing black leggings, a black pullover sweatshirt, gray boots and a red baseball cap. She has the letter "M" with a crown tattooed on her neck behind her ear. She had recently moved to Cleveland from Lorain, and she was living on the city's east side. Nathan "Nuski" Orona is described as a 5-foot, 11-inch-tall Hispanic man with brown eyes and brown hair and a thin mustache. He weighs about 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray hoodie, black jeans and black bandana. He has a wing tattoo on the front of his neck and on both arms. Those with information about Orona or Camacho are asked to call Cleveland police at (216) 623-5400 or the Lorain County Sheriff's Office at (440) 329-3709. Texas EquuSearch, a national nonprofit organization, is assisting in the search for both individuals. "We're not going to stop the search," Carrion said. "We're not going to stop this initiative and we are urging law enforcement to continue the search and continue to turn every stone possible to bring this nightmare to a close." Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com. TO JOIN THE SEARCHWHAT: Search for Alaina Camacho and Nathan OronaWHEN: 1 p.m. SundayWHERE: Boys and Girls Clubs, 4111 Pearl Ave., Lorain