What to Know
- The father of a missing New Jersey woman posted a heartbreaking message about the reality of the family’s attempts to locate her and the emotional toll of not knowing her whereabouts
- Edward Parze's social media is a shrine to his beloved daughter -- 25-year-old Stephanie Parze, who mysteriously vanished after dropping her parents off at their house following a family night out on October 30.
- A search will take place in Freehold on Saturday and another search in Staten Island is scheduled for Sunday
The father of a missing New Jersey woman posted a heartbreaking message about the reality of the family’s attempts to locate her and the emotional toll not knowing her whereabouts is having on him "as the search continues."
Edward Parze's social media is a shrine to his beloved daughter -- 25-year-old Stephanie Parze, who mysteriously vanished after dropping her parents off at their house following a family night out on October 30. She hasn't been seen since, though searches have led authorities across multiple states and counties.
In a lengthy and hearbreaking Dec. 10 post, Edward details "an uncontrollable meltdown" as "the reality of what has happened is beginning to kill my hopes and slowly bringing me to my knees."
Edward goes on to say that although he is reminded of the "the reflection of the goodness of all who are trying to help and comfort us pushes me back up and keeps me strong" he is starting to "see and hear the quiet reality sneaking in."
"The media for the most part has stopped covering Stephanie's story, Friends and family stop by our home less and less each day. People are going back to their everyday routines. The searching continues but, with less and less volunteers on the line each time. The authority's no longer call or stop by the house everyday and there is no new information at all about her case. Its getting quieter everyday. I pray each night for that Miracle. You know, the miracle that God can only give you, but even he is quiet," his post reads in part.
"I am becoming broken beyond repair."
The heart-rending post comes as the family fervently continues to search for Stephanie.
Edward announced that the family will be conducting searches on both Saturday and Sunday in several locations. On Saturday, a search will start in Freehold -- although a time and place has yet to be determined.
On Sunday, the search will be in Staten Island and start at 8:30 a.m. although a location will be announced at a later time.
The young woman disappeared without a trace after dropping off at their house following a family night out on Halloween Eve. She kissed her mother goodbye after dropping them off at their place and headed for her home about 10 miles away, where she lives alone with her dog.
Her ex-boyfriend, who was named a person of interest in her disappearance, was found dead by suicide in his home last month, law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case told News 4.
John Ozbilgen apparently killed himself in his Freehold Township home, the sources said, days after Monmouth County prosecutors classified him as a person of interest in the disappearance of Stephanie Parze.
Ozbilgen died just days after he was ordered released from jail in connection with an unrelated child pornography case. It was the day of that hearing, when the judge ordered him released, that prosecutors for the first time called him a person of interest in the case of Parze, who had dated him for months.
During their relationship, Parze accused Ozbilgen of abuse, sources have previously told News 4. He was arrested on the child porn charge Nov. 8, but the judge subsequently ruled the single charge was not enough to detain until trial.
Ozbilgen's attorney, Robert Honecker, previously told News 4 that the man's family was emotionally distraught and heartbroken. He says he met with Ozbilgen the night before his death at his law office and that the man "adamantly denied having anything to do" with the child pornography charge and "strongly mantained his innocence." Honecker, who at the time declined to say whether Ozbilgen had left a note, said the two did not talk about Stephanie.
The search for the missing woman has taken investigators from the Monmouth County prosecutor’s office to Long Pond Park in Staten Island, only a few miles from where Ozbilgen used to live. During that search, the abuse accusations resurfaced.