The family of a 25-year-old beauty who went missing from a Manhattan hot spot begged for her safe return Sunday as cops intensified their focus on a convicted sex offender from upstate.
"Please return my sister," Ivan Garza, the heartsick brother of Laura Garza, pleaded in the Daily News. "I only need my sister here. That's it."
Garza's family made the tearful plea as the Rockland County Sheriff's Department held 23-year-old Michael Mele on $50,000 bail. The registered sex offender was last seen leaving the Chelsea hot spot Marquee with Garza.
Mele violated the terms of his probation by consuming alcohol and failing to report to his probation officer, Detective Lt. William Barbera said. Mele's attorney did not return a message seeking comment.
Mele, who had scratches on his neck and bite marks on his hands, has refused to be interviewed by investigators. Last April, Mele was arrested at the Palisades Center Mall for masturbating on women, earning himself Level 1 sex offender status.
Mele and another man were seen leaving the swanky Chelsea nightclub early Wednesday with Garza. Garza was last seen that morning in the Orange County community of Newburgh, north of Manhattan, with Mele, state police said .
Police have combed his apartment for clues about the missing girl's whereabouts. They said it appears to have been cleaned throughly with bleach.
A forensics test is pending, police said.
A warrant has been issued for his arrest following a DNA match, NBCNewYork.com has learned Monday, stemming from a 2005 public lewdness case in Paramus, N.J.
Authorities have also sought other women whom the sex offender may have approached. Cops also released photos of the suspect's 2005 Infiniti in the hope it might may lead to Garza's corpse.
State Police say a number of women are coming forward with information about Mele.
Capt. Wayne Olsen will not describe the new information about the 23-year-old -- except that it is helpful.
Cops believe Mele drove Garza back to his condo in upstate Walkill and killed her.
Investigators believe Mele removed a 12-foot length of carpet from his condo, which was big "enough to wrap a body in," The News reported. Cops also said Mele frantically tossed evidence, including a woman's shoe, that was discovered in several dumpsters, one of which sits near a Quiznos franchise he operates with his father William Mele, a retired MTA assistant deputy police chief.
Meanwhile, family and neighbors were holding on to hope that the aspiring dancer who moved to New York from Texas five months ago would be found alive. Garza's mother, who talked to daughter just hours before her fateful night out, is heartbroken.
"[My mother] is in bad shape. She's taking medicine and is in bed," Ivan Garza told the News. "My sister never hurt anyone. She's a beautiful person."
