UPDATE 11/30 8:20 a.m.: Caitlyn Frisina's parents appeared at a news conference in Lake City where they begged their daughter, 17, to call them.
Caitlyn Frisina and soccer coach Rian Rodriguez, 27, were sighted at gas stations in Georgia and South Carolina and at a pawn shop in North Carolina.
"We want you to know that we love you and miss you," Scarlet Forsina, Caitlyn's mother, said. "We need to know you are safe and OK. Please call us."
Caitlyn Frisina erased her cell phone by resetting it to its factory settings, authorities said.
Authorities say they are trying to retrieve data from the erased phone. They do not feel that she is in danger. She is unable, however, to content by law, authorities said.
Police said they are expanding their efforts to the Northeastern United States, where Rodriguez and Frisina both have family.
UPDATE 11/29: Investigators are looking for a missing 17-year old girl and her soccer coach and believe the two could be headed to New York or Canada.
Sgt. Murray Smith with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said 17-year-old Caitlyn Frisina and 27-year-old Rion Rodriguez have family in the Northeast.
Deputies say a surveillance camera captured footage of Caitlyn and Rodriguez in St. Marys, Georgia on Sunday morning. Caitlyn was seen withdrawing $200 from an ATM at a gas station in St. Marys, Georgia on Sunday, deputies said.
“Early on in the investigation, we pulled some records from her ATM card and saw that she withdrew $200 from an ATM, in St. Marys, Georgia,” Smith said.
The St. Marys Police Department shared a screen grab from that surveillance video with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. They were able to confirm it was Caitlyn, but could not share the image with Action News Jax, citing the ongoing investigation.
Deputies are monitoring Caitlyn's ATM transactions, and law enforcement agencies up the East Coast are on alert, as Caitlyn and Rodriguez both have family in the Northeast and in Canada.
“Rion, apparently got some family, in Canada, and Caitlyn has some in New York. I believe Rion has some family in the Northeast also,” Smith said.
There have been other possible sightings of the two in North Georgia and South Carolina, but authorities said there is no video from those.
The St. Marys sighting happened a day after Caitlyn reportedly wiped the data from her phone and climbed out of a window at her Columbia County home Saturday night.
Deputies say Caitlyn ran away with Rodriguez. Rodriguez coached boys soccer at Fort White High School, where Caitlyn is a senior.
Original story: A missing child alert has been issued for a missing Florida teen, three days after she reportedly ran away with a 27-year-old soccer coach.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials announced the missing child alert Tuesday afternoon.
Caitlyn Frisina’s family has not seen her since Saturday night. Deputies say she wiped the data from her phone and climbed out of a window at her Columbia County home in Florida.
Officials believe she fled the state with 27-year-old Rian Rodriguez in a red Mercury Sable.
Rodriguez coached men’s soccer at Fort White High School, where Frisina is a senior. School officials say Rodriguez has been suspended from the coaching position.
Frisina was last seen withdrawing $200 from an ATM in St. Marys, Georgia, on Sunday.
Columbia County deputies say Frisina erased all the data on her cellphone before leaving home Saturday night.
Frisina’s father shared a photo of him and his daughter on Facebook, asking anyone to help him get in touch with his daughter.
“We are now in the third day of her missing and having no contact with her. She left with only a few clothes. She left her phone,” he wrote in the post. “Her family loves her and more than anything else wants to know she is safe and not in danger.”
The Columbia County School District released the following statement on Rodriguez:
“The Columbia County School District is cooperating fully with the Columbia County Sheriff’s office with regard to an investigation against one of our current supplemented employees. The employee has been suspended pending this investigation and is no longer serving in the supplemented capacity as Head Boys’ Soccer Coach at Fort White High School. Depending on the outcome of this investigation the information may be sent to (Florida Department of Education) to determine if any violations of the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida or local School Board Policy have occurred. Again, the employee has been suspended and will be restricted from all contact with students. No other comments will be made pending this investigation.”
Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Marszalek at 386-719-2005.
