Report: 2 kilos of cocaine found in hotel room where missing Florida trio were staying

Father of missing man shocked to learn of possible drug connection

BUFFALO, New York – Two kilos of cocaine were discovered in the New York hotel room where three people from Florida were staying before they went missing, reports the Buffalo News.

The report is the latest development in the case of three missing persons from Florida who left behind a toddler who was later found sleeping on the front porch of a home not far from where the group's burned out rental car with human remains inside was found.

The burned vehicle was found behind a warehouse in Buffalo Monday evening, hours after 3-year-old Noelvyn was found sleeping on a New York porch, police said.

Police later learned that the boy's parents, Miguel Valentin-Colon, 31, and Nicole Merced, 24,  and their friend, Dhamyl Roman-Audiffred, 29, were all reported missing. A missing persons investigation has been underway since.

The 3-year-old boy's grandfather, Jorge Oquendo, told News 6 his son and two others took a road trip to Buffalo on Sunday, and he hasn't been able to contact them since then.

On Friday, Buffalo News reports that police sources confirmed 4.4 pounds of cocaine was found inside a cooler, along with a second empty cooler, in the hotel room near Buffalo Niagara International Airport where Valentin-Colon, Merced, Roman-Audiffred and the toddler had been staying.

The drugs could be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

The discovery comes a day after Buffalo police released surveillance videos showing two persons of interest seen running away from a torched vehicle that the group has been riding in.

In one video a person and the toddler are seen hurrying away from the area where the car was burned. 

Police said because it could take up to four weeks for the burned bodies to be identified by a medical examiner, there is still reason to believe all three people reported missing are alive.

Buffalo police said the torched vehicle was the one the boy's parents had rented to drive to New York. Authorities said the boy's mother and father, along with a family friend and the toddler, all traveled to New York in the rented vehicle, which they believe is a white Chrysler Pacifica.

News 6 called Buffalo police officials to confirm the report about the drugs.

Martin-Colon's father told News 6 he was shocked about reports of cocaine found and didn't know the three were going on a trip let alone where they were staying.

Noelvyn remains in the care of child protective services while his grandmother, Zenaida Colon, of Florida, files for custody. Colon has a custody petition hearing on Oct. 9.

Anyone with any information about the missing persons case or homicide investigation is asked to call the Buffalo Police Department's confidential tip line at 716-847-2255 or the homicide unit at 716-851-4444.


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