FREMONT, Mich. (WXMI) — Last week, the Cirigliano family went missing from their home in Fremont. Police said they left their cellphones behind, so no one heard from them, including family.
Immediately, Fremont Police began investigating their disappearance and got word out to media outlets and the public to help locate Tony, Suzette, and their two teenage boys Brandon and Noah.
Almost a week later, on Sunday, they received some good news from Wisconsin.
“Approximately 11 o’clock Eastern Standard Time, we received a call from the Stevens Point Police Department, who had made contact with the Cirigiliano family,” Chief Rodwell said. “We asked them to do a welfare check and make sure that they’re OK. Stevens Point Police did a phenomenal job for us, talked to everybody and realized very quickly that all were OK and none needed any type of help.”
Chief Rodwell said the Ciriglianos were staying at a Baymont Inn up in Wisconsin, and that the family was “very cordial” to police. They understood people’s concern about their wellbeing.
“When they initially went missing I was very concerned,” said Nina Innsted of Missing in Michigan. “It’s very, very rare for an entire family to vanish like that.”
Worries about the family first began on Sunday October 16, when minutes after midnight, the dad called Fremont Police about information he had regarding the September 11th attacks, said Chief Rodwell in a previous interview. Police arrived to the home and believed that Tony may have been having a mental health episode. So they stayed for an hour and left after making sure everyone was OK.
Then, over 24 hours later they returned after their elderly grandmother was seen walking away from the home. A neighbor called police. Officers arrived and got her to safety, but determined that the family was not home and were missing.
Police immediately spread the word about what happened to the Ciriglianos. Then tips started coming in, he said, that they were spotted up in the Upper Peninsula, first at a gas station and then at Iron Mountain.
Then, on Sunday, they were located in Stevens Point, Wisc.
“Stevens Point Police had done a very thorough investigation and also could not develop enough reason to do something,” Chief Rodwell said. “So, once we knew that they were OK, we just wish them the best and glad to know that they’re going to be OK.”
Innsted, who’s the social media director with Missing in Michigan, was glad too.
“When a person goes missing, the first thing you should do is contact law enforcement,” Innsted said. “There is a myth that you have to wait 24 hours. That is absolutely not true.”
She applauded the extended family for letting police know that the Ciriglianos were gone.
Missing in Michigan is an organization that works with Michigan State Police and the families of missing persons, helping to solve such cases.
After the Ciriglianos were reported missing, she reached out to Fremont PD to extend their services to them.
Her focus and concern were about the boys: Brandon and Noah.
“Both of the Cirigliano kids are on the spectrum, and the dad appeared to be having some sort of crisis,” Innsted said. “I was concerned for the safety of the family.”
The 911 call Tony made to police, which he said there were people after him, alarmed her as well.
“Anytime a person appears to be having a mental health change, a mental health status change, or some sort of mental health crisis that’s concerning. The first thing you should do is speak with the person’s physician if possible,” Innsted said. “Reach out to the family member and have an honest conversation with them. Not necessarily about what they appear to be paranoid about, but about their well-being in general.”
And check to see if they’re eating properly or if they’re taking their medications, she said.
It’s unknown if Tony was on any medication. But she urged everyone to please get loved ones the mental health help they need.
Moreover, if they go missing let the police know as soon as possible. The quicker law enforcement knows, the sooner the information gets out to the public and put on social media.
“I was really grateful that the people were found and I think that the media and social media in particular, we had people all over the country looking for them and keeping an eye out. I think it was a sharp-eyed citizen who saw the vehicle and called it in, which is what brought them home safe,” Innsted said. “People say ‘Oh it doesn’t help to share on social media.’ It absolutely does. Keeping an eye. Being vigilant. You never know what you’re going to see or what you might’ve seen that can be helpful to an investigation.”
