Fort Lauderdale Mom Goes Missing
Woman who was seeking restraining order against man hasn't been seen in days
Fort Lauderdale Police Department
Melanie Parada
A Fort Lauderdale mother has gone missing just days before she was set to appear in court to get a restraining order from her on-again, off-again boyfriend.
Melanie Parada hasn't been seen by anyone since she put her 8-year-old daughter to sleep on the night of March 11 in the family's home at 15 Isle of Venice.
Police said the child woke up the next morning and found her mother missing.
"The girl wandered out, came out and was trying to go to school and no mom, so she has a friend that lives next door so she went over there," said Rick Schluederberg, the property manager at the family's apartment building.
Family members reported Parada, 36, as missing on Sunday after they hadn't heard from her.
Parada was supposed to make a court appearance Tuesday afternoon for a restraining order she'd filed against boyfriend William Panero, who she claimed had repeatedly abused her, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Parada had gotten a temporary restraining order against Panero on March 5.
Panero had no comment outside court, where the judge dismissed the case when Parada failed to show up for the hearing.
Parada is described as 5-foot-3, 115 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. Neighbors said they've heard all sorts of rumblings about Parada's lifestyle.
"I don't know what to think, I've heard rumors of course like everybody else has, that she frequented bad neighborhoods," neighbor Shellie Caron said.
"She has been missing before but the unusual thing about this is she's never left her eight year old daughter alone," said Sgt. Frank Sousa with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
"We have to take this serious regardless if there's a drug problem there or not," Sousa said. "We're not here to judge, we want to make sure she's safe and give some comfort to the family."
Police said that Parada had contacted her sister Tuesday afternoon, but until police speak to her, they're still treating this as a missing persons case.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Fort Lauderdale Police Department at 954-828-5548.
