Missing In the Miami Valley: Where is Tiffany Orona?

She has four children. She has a mom, and in late 2021 Tiffany Orona vanished. Every day her mother struggles with the pain of not knowing what happened to her daughter.

Across Ohio, the Ohio Attorney General’s website has the names of roughly 1,000 missing people.

Orona’s mother, Karen told News Center 7′s James Brown that she hopes people will see the story and never has to face the agony she has.

Born and raised in Preble County, country living was always important to the Orona family. There were few distractions and Tiffany loved the outdoors.

“She’s my baby girl,” said Tiffany’s mother, Karen Booso-Orona.

Growing up, Tiffany stayed busy and played softball. “She was a great kid and super athlete,” Karen said.

She was also a member of the FFA. But, when Tiffany turned 16, her all-American country life spiraled out of control.

Capt. Shane Hatfield with the Preble County Sheriff’s Office said, “I got her to overcome the encounters I’d had with her over the years.”

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Through the years, Capt. Hatfield said Tiffany was in and out of the jail almost a dozen times. “She’d taken a lot of drugs. She had gone down the wrong path,” Capt. Hatfield said.

As bad as it got, Karen said Tiffany would always call. She told her mom she was OK, but Karen knew otherwise, and Capt. Hatfield saw Tiffany’s reality.

After Tiffany’s last drug conviction in October 2021, a judge ordered her to Dayton for mandatory drug counseling. But her mom said she lasted only a week and she disappeared. Karen never heard from her again.

Tiffany did not have a cell phone and investigators could not find her social media.

“We executed search warrants. We’ve deployed cadaver dogs. We’ve followed up on every lead that has come in,” Capt. Hatfield said.

“I do suspect some foul play here. I know someone knows something or people know something,” he said.

Capt. Hatfield interviewed close to 30 people in the case. “There is one that sticks out more than others. I’m not willing to release information about who that person may be,” Capt. Hatfield said.

What keeps her mom going is the fact that she’s raising Tiffany’s four children.

“My granddaughter has her laugh. They have her eyes,” she said. “It’s like having Tiffany her through them.”

Karen said there’s the constant pain of not knowing where Tiffany could be. “For your own mental well-being, you need an end here. You need an answer. I would appreciate it if anyone would come forward,” Karen said.

But she also admitted constantly thinking about the very real possibility her baby girl died.

“I pray every day she comes home,” Karen said.

One way or the other she must know. “Nobody should have to live like that,” Karen said.

Going on three years now, Tiffany has missed these markings on the wall, recording her children’s growth and their journey.

The Preble County Sheriff’s Office has a $5,000 reward for anyone who has information about what happened to Tiffany.