Michigan family of four missing for a week found safe in Wisconsin

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Police said on Sunday that a missing Michigan family of four, who went missing for nearly a week after the father called 911 and exhibited paranoid behavior, have been found safe in Wisconsin. Police found the Cirigliano family in the city of Steven’s Point, Wisconsin at around 11 a.m. Sunday. Authorities saying they interviewed all family members and determined they were safe.

The family has lived in Fremont, Michigan — a town of around 4,500, about 35 miles north of Grand Rapids — for four years, and prior to that they lived in the Jasper County area of South Carolina. The Fremont Police Department said in a statement: “The Fremont Police Department would like to thank you for all the helping locating the Cirigliano Family. They family was successfully located in Wisconsin.” Authorities added: “They are still of the opinion that people are after them, but the elements of the investigation do not meet the criteria for protective custody. The family member that was requiring full-time care is being cared for by other family members.”

The family — Anthony “Tony” John Cirigliano, 51, his wife Suzette Lee Cirigliano, 51, as well as their two sons, Brandon Michael Cirigliano, 19, and Noah Alexander Cirigliano, 15 — “unexpectedly” left their house in Fremont, about 45 miles north of Grand Rapids, on Oct. 16. Both sons are autistic, authorities said. The family’s cellphones had all been turned off and they left behind their pets as well as Suzette’s elderly mother, who has dementia and requires full-time care. The grandmother, who lives with them, was found disoriented in the neighborhood on Oct. 17 and police were unable to reunite her with the family. She is now being cared for by other relatives, according to Fremont Police.

Early last Sunday — the last day other family members had heard from the family — Anthony Cirigliano had exhibited paranoid behavior, according to state police. He called 911 and when officers arrived he “was talking about issues or information that he had regarding the Sept. 11th attacks.”  At the time, officers talked with Cirigliano at length after concern about his mental well-being, and they made contact with Suzette and looked at the two boys to make sure they were OK.

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