A family of four from Michigan who had not been seen or heard from for days after the father called 911 and exhibited paranoid behavior has been found safe in Wisconsin, police said Sunday.
NBC affiliate WOOD of Grand Rapids reported that police found the Cirigliano family around 11 a.m. Sunday in the town of Steven’s Point, Wisconsin.
Authorities interviewed all family members and determined they were safe, WOOD reported.
“They still believe that people are after them, but the elements of the investigation do not meet the criteria for preventive detention,” the police said. “The family member who needed full-time care is being cared for by other family members.”
Additional details were not immediately available and the Freemont Police Department could not be immediately reached for comment.
Fremont Police and Michigan State Police previously, relatives said they had not heard from Anthony and Suzette Cirigliano, both 51, or their sons Brandon, 19, and Noah, 15, since Oct. 16, and their phones have been turned off. Their disappearances prompted both police forces to alert the missing persons family.
They were last seen at a gas station Friday in Gulliver, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, buying fuel and food, police said.
Early Sunday — the last day other relatives had heard of the family — Anthony Cirigliano had exhibited paranoid behavior, according to state police assisting the case.
He called 911, and when officers arrived, he was “talking about any issues or information he had about the September 11 attacks,” Rodwell said.
The officers made sure everyone was safe and okay, spent about an hour with Anthony Cirigliano, and also spoke to Suzette, Rodwell told WOOD. “Honestly, that’s very abnormal to say and report to the police,” he said.
Before leaving, officers told Anthony and Suzette Cirigliano to call the police with any other concerns and that they would be there to help, Rodwell said.
Earlier this week, Police Chief Tim Rodwell said investigators have no evidence of malicious intent.
But he told WOOD that everyone who knows the family was shocked by the disappearance.
“They are all describing this as extremely abnormal behavior from Tony and Suzette,” he said.
An elderly relative with dementia, and whom the family was caring for, was found Monday walking through the neighborhood, Rodwell said. She is now cared for by other family members.
The two sons have autism, state police said.
Fremont is a city of about 4,500 about 35 miles north of Grand Rapids. The family has lived there for four years, Rodwell told the station. Before that, they lived in the Jasper County area of ​​South Carolina.
Julianne McShane contributed.