Feb 27, 2009 11:19 am US/Eastern
Search For NYC Woman To Resume This Weekend
NEWBURGH, N.Y. (CBS) ―
-
-
Laura Garza, 25, was last seen leaving Marquee nightclub in Manhattan with two men on Dec. 3, 2008.
NYPD
The search for Laura Garza, a 25-year-old Brooklyn woman who went missing after a night out at a popular Manhattan nightclub in December, has been partially suspended due to snow cover.
On Thursday, state police suspended a search planned for this weekend in Sullivan County due to snow. A renewed search in parts of Orange County will continue as scheduled Saturday with about 200 police and volunteer firefighters.
Missing and presumed dead for nearly three months months, there is still no major break in the case.
Garza's family, along with dozens of supporters, took their desperate search for answers to the front door of the Orange County home of Michael Mele's parents earlier this month.
Driven by frustration, the mother and brothers of missing Laura Garza were outside the family home of a man they believe has answers they desperately need.
The missing girl's mother, Elizabeth Esquivel, and brothers Ivan and Nicholas are demanding that jailed 23-year-old Mele start talking. He is classified by police as an uncooperative "person of interest" in the case.
"We're not giving up," brother Nicholas Garza said. "We won't go anywhere until we find my sister."
There's just one message friends and family of Laura Garza hope to send to the parents of Michael Mele: please talk to your son.
"Please try to convince him to tell us – where is my sister," Nicholas pleaded.
Mele was with Garza at Club Marquee in the early morning hours of December 3rd, and the two were later seen at the Newburgh Mall. Then, she was gone.
There were missing pieces of carpet in Mele's apartment, and what appeared to be matching patches of it were found along Route 17.
Mele was arrested for parole violations related to a prior conviction that made him a registered sex offender.
"And the police department needs the pressure also, that they cannot sleep on this case," family supporter Awilda Cordero says. "They need to stay on it and look for her."
Mele's parents were not home to witness the activity in front of their property. Garza's mother left a candle in the snow, hoping it sparks a reaction.
The candle blew out, but what still burns is the Garzas' need for information – and they say they are going to keep pressure on until they get it.
Mele has not been charged in Garza's disappearance. He is scheduled to appear in Newburgh town court on April 1st for a hearing on his probation violations.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
NYC Snow Unavoidable This Time Around 2 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Comments