“He is still in shock,’’ said his father-in-law Thursday. “He’s still in Florida. We are making plans to return her to Connecticut.’’

Mulcahy said his daughter met her future husband in the tightly knit Irish community in Hartford, and they both were members of the Irish-American Home Society of Glastonbury. His daughter graduated from St. Anselm College in Manchester and was an assistant teacher in the East Hartford School District. She was studying for her master’s degree with plans to become a guidance counselor.

Since a child, she performed Irish step-dancing in competitions up and down the East Coast. She won many trophies, and once danced with Eileen Ivers, star fiddler of the Riverdance company.

“She could sing, she was a beautiful singer,” her father said. “She was a fun person, she was shy but funny.’’

Mary Lynch, a board member of the Irish Home Society who has known Miskell for 25 years, said her friend would put on a pair of dance shoes and never stop.

Her father would go to all her shows, and her sister opened a dance studio.

“She and her husband, Stephen, were so connected,’’ Lynch said. “Their friendship became a love story.’’

Though her immediate family was small, Lynch said Kathleen and Erin were always part of a larger family.

“When you’re Irish, there is no such thing as a small family,’’ Lynch said.

The Miskells recently bought a house in nearby Wethersfield, a small, historic town just south of Hartford. Lynch said Kathleen was looking forward to holding family dinners in their new home, which they were renovating.

“They were looking forward to an adventure and unfortunately, the adventure went very bad,’’ Lynch said.

Miami Herald reporters Maria Camila Bernal, Mary Ellen Klas, Diana Moskovitz and Herald researcher Monika Leal contributed to this report.