Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26, went to Pulse nightclub almost every weekend, often with her best friend, Amanda Alvear.
"She was very outgoing," her sister-in-law, Nancy Flores, said. "She had lots of friends."
Mercedez Flores worked at Target, studied at a local community college and wanted to become a party planner so she could coordinate events with her two older brothers, who are both DJs.
Flores' family spent hours waiting at Orlando Regional Medical Center, then a staging area at a nearby hotel. Someone read the names of victims still hospitalized or being released, and her name wasn't on the list. Her father got a call early the next day from the sheriff's office that his daughter had died, Nancy Flores said.