Central Florida's True Crime Files: 10 years since Michelle Parker disappearance
ORLANDO, Fla. - Ten years ago, a mother of three disappeared.
Michelle Parker was 33-years-old when she was reported to have dropped off her three-year-old twins with their father, Dale Smith Jr., at his home on Nov. 17, 2011.
Her mother and sister remember the last time they saw her. She was leaving the family salon for the day, headed to work at a bar in Sanford.
"I’m going to pick up the babies, take them to their Dad’s and I’m going home to take a nap because I’m tired and I have to work tonight," recalls Yvonne Stewart, Michelle’s mom.
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"She made it right there and put her hand on the door, and I yelled out, 'What am I, chopped liver?" Lauren Erickson, her sister, recalls. "She turned around and she said, ‘You know I love you too!’ and that was it."
The memories of that day and the days that followed still replay on their minds 10 years later.
Parker appeared on The People’s Court that day. The show was recorded months earlier. She and the father of her twins faced a judge over a dispute involving a $5,000 ring. That same evening she vanished.
"It got dark and her oldest son called and said, ‘is she at the salon, where’s mom is she with you?’" recalled Stewart.
"In that moment, like I knew something was wrong, I tried calling her phone, she’s not answering," added Erickson.
The family called the police and began searching immediately.
Orlando police said they later found her Hummer ditched in a parking lot in southwestern Orlando and her iPhone was discovered in a lake south of Orlando just a few feet away from a bridge.
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Detectives said the only suspect in Michelle’s disappearance is her ex-fiance, Smith. But, the family said he refused to cooperate with the investigation, and he was never charged.
"He pleads the fifth on things, so they don’t really have the answers," Gayle Parker said.
On Wednesday, which marked a decade since Parker has been missing, Orlando police tweeted out a plea to the public for information in the case. A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information.
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"It's been 10 years since the disappearance of Michelle Parker. We at OPD together w/ the family have not given up hope in bringing her home. We urge our community to come forward with any info that can help us piece together what happened to Michelle."
The family and police are encouraging anyone with information to come forward and contact Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).