FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Family members of Stephanie Parze, the Freehold Township resident who has been missing for 22 days, searched for her in the township on Nov. 20 and are planning to conduct additional searches during the upcoming weekend.
The searches were organized by Parze’s family and not by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, according to a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.
The Parze family was joined by others who volunteered in the Nov. 20 search at Michael J. Tighe Park, which is located on Georgia Road.
On Thursday morning, Nov. 21, Stephanie’s sister, Brianna Parze, posted the following message on Facebook:
“I want to let everyone know we are organizing another search for this weekend (Nov. 23-24). I will be posting the location and time (on Nov. 21 or Nov. 22) for anyone who would like to come out and join. We need as many people as we can get!
“If anything changes I will let you all know and for those who are planning on joining the search for Stephanie, we want to make you all aware we will need a big amount of your time when we are out there.
“We want to let everyone know that if you do volunteer, no cell phones are to be used while out searching. If you are seen taking pictures or videos you will be asked to leave. We also want to make sure everyone is dressed in layers and are wearing appropriate shoes.
“We appreciate everyone who came out to help search (on Nov. 20) and we are thankful for all of you who have asked to be part of the searches and would like to volunteer for Saturday and Sunday. We appreciate it greatly. The support and love we are getting from all of you warms our heart and we couldn’t be more thankful. Let’s bring Stephanie home!” she wrote.
According to The AWARE Foundation, on the evening of Oct. 30, Stephanie Parze went to see a medium with other family members.
Parze was supposed to send a text message to her mother when she arrived home, but she never sent a message. She failed to show up for work the following day, according to The AWARE Foundation.
Parze left behind her car, phone and other personal items. The young woman is 4-feet, 11-inches tall and weighs 115 pounds. She was last seen wearing jeans, a burgundy V-neck shirt and a burgundy sweater.
Law enforcement officials said they have questioned a person of interest in Parze’s disappearance. No one has been charged in connection with her disappearance.
Previous searches for Parze have been conducted in a park on Staten Island, N.Y.
Anyone who may have information about Parze’s disappearance is asked to call Detective Shawn Murphy of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-431-7160, ext. 7032, or Freehold Township Detective Daniel Valentine at 732-462-7908.
Anyone wishing to remain anonymous, but who has information about a crime can contact the Monmouth County Crime Stoppers confidential telephone tip line by calling 1-800-671-4400; can text “MONMOUTH” plus their tip to 274637; or they can email a tip via the website at www.monmouthcountycrimestoppers.com.
