A massive manhunt is underway for a missing Ohio girl and her parents. Police believe the family is linked to a murder in a Miami motel.
Investigators think the murder of a man Saturday at the Sunshine Inn could be connected to an Ohio fugitive, who is on the run with his family.
Right now detectives are searching for that family, including a seven-year-old little girl, who was last seen inside that same motel room.
Jala Barnett was last seen with her mother Kristy and her stepfather Michael Evans.
Police in Ohio say Evans broke off his ankle monitor while on house arrest and ended up a thousand miles away at the Sunshine Inn on Flagler Street in Miami.
"I'm very concerned about the child, I'm very concerned about her," said Elaine Moniz, who is also grieving the death of her ex-husband, 46-year-old Joe Moniz. He was found murdered inside the same motel room, room 15, where the Ohio family was staying. His body found without pants, face down in a pool of blood.
NBC 6 has learned the family was staying in another motel just two miles away before arriving at the Sunshine Inn.
The manager, Ramon Cordoba said there was a lot of suspicious activity in the room they rented, and he was worried about the little girl.
Cordoba said the family stayed in room 5 at his hotel which is about a five minute drive east on Flagler. He said it didn't take long to see something wasn't right. He said there was suspicious activity going on in the hotel room, and the father spent a lot of time outside with the girl, holding on to her.
A few days later Cordoba said he told the family the room was reserved, essentially asking them to leave.
Cordoba said he was worried about the little girl but said they left in a cab and he never saw them again.
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Police are not releasing how Moniz was killed. They are concerned it would jeopardize the investigation. His ex-wife had to identify the body.
"I was pretty much in shock and couldn't stop shaking or crying... nobody deserves to die the way he died and it hurts me," Elaine Moniz said. "It's hard to talk about him in past tense."
Now that Ohio family is nowhere to be found, and police on Tuesday issued a missing child alert for seven-year-old Jala. Both she and her mother were reported missing last month.
"It's been way too long for that, they should've done that Saturday," Elaine said.
Police believe the family could be driving one of two cars, a blue Audi convertible or a blue Ford Escort.
As for Elaine, she says her husband spent years struggling with a drug addiction, but that's not how he should be remembered.
"He is so kind and so loving, he would give the shirt off his back for anybody," she said.
A reward of up to $3,000 is being offered in the case. If you spot any of these individuals call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
Anyone with information on Jala's whereabouts is asked to contact FDLE or the Miami Police Department at 305-603-6350.
