Search for missing adults continues

LORAIN — The search continues for two missing adults originally from Lorain. About a dozen family and friends of Alaina Camacho, 18, and Nathan Orona, 20, gathered Saturday afternoon in South Lorain's Oakwood Park to coordinate searching for signs of the missing pair. Albert Camacho, Alaina's uncle, organized the effort with Councilman Rey Carrion, D-6th Ward. It has been almost six weeks since the pair were last seen leaving Orona's apartment at Sheffield Estates about 1:40 a.m. Feb. 1. Family and friends have had no contact with either, and Alaina Camacho's gold 2004 Honda Accord, license plate GTD 9555, has yet to be found. "We'll just continue to look for that vehicle," he said Saturday, while the handful of volunteers decided where in the city to search. Alaina Camacho and Nathan Orona were friends from school. Camacho had recently moved to the Kinsman neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland, and picked Orona up from his mother's apartment Feb. 1. Heavy snow obscured a security camera on the property, making it unclear how many people were in Alaina Camacho's vehicle when she picked Orona up. Albert Camacho said his niece is a tough girl who he taught how to fight. She had plans to serve in the Marine Corps. And then come home to become a Lorain police officer. Orona's family has previously said he was working on getting his GED and getting his life together, and neither had a reason to run away without telling family members where they were going. It is far from the first effort to find the pair. Last Sunday, Camacho and about 50 others dispersed into wooded areas around Sheffield Township and South Lorain, including a handful on ATVs. Firefighters from nearby Station 4 helped search along the Black River, from near Tacoma Avenue to the Henderson Bridge. The last weekend in February saw an effort organized by Nathan Orona's aunt, Jennifer Sanabria, checking the wooded areas near Sheffield Estates apartments where he lived with his mother. Some of the same men from the March 7 search — Ward Burnette, Ernie White and Marck St. Clair, all from Lorain — returned Saturday, heading toward the wooded area near state Route 254 and Gulf Road on ATVs. Others drove to the wooded area behind Sacred Heart Chapel. Camacho said some of those on ATVs were stopped by Lorain police, but he said those drivers weren't joy-riding, and were allowed to continue searching. On foot, several individuals split off to check the overgrowth near the empty Westgate Shopping Center — all to no avail. Carrion said they are looking at bringing in drones to the next search, as well as more volunteers on foot in the coming weeks. Camacho is hoping for the best, but as the weeks drag on, preparing for the worst. "I don't want to think like that … but it's been over a month — it doesn't sound good, it doesn't look good but we're going to continue doing what we can do." The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has issued missing posters for the pair and the FBI is in contact with Lorain County Sheriff's Office and Cleveland police. 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. 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. Anyone with information about Orona or Camacho is 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. It can be reached at (281) 309-9500. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.