Aug 25, 2008 5:43 pm US/Eastern
Police Try To Find Out Whether Body Is Missing Mom
Woman's Body Found In St. Lucie County
Fort Lauderdale Police Department: (954) 828-5700
Broward County Crime Stoppers: (954) 493-TIPS
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
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Police are looking for missing Fort Lauderdale mother Josephine Frenna.
CBS
Fort Lauderdale detectives are in St. Lucie County where the
body of a woman has been found which fits the description of missing Ft.
Lauderdale mother Josephine Frenna. However, it's not known yet whether the
body is that of Frenna.
"There's enough
similarities for them to warrant a detective going down there," said Kathy
Collins, a spokesperson for the Ft. Lauderdale police.
The woman's body, in a blue bathing suit, was found 20 miles east of Sebastian
Inlet on Sunday afternoon by the U.S. Coast Guard, according to St. Lucie
County Sheriff Ken Mascara. The body was taken to the U.S. Coast Guard's Fort
Pierce Station. The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office is assisting in the
investigation. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday to determine the cause of
death. Fort Lauderdale Police officials say they don't expect any answers as to
the identity of the body found in St. Lucie County until Tuesday at the
earliest.
Josephine Frenna, 51, was last seen Thursday morning after she dropped her
14-year old son off at his school bus stop. When he came home from school
Thursday afternoon, she was nowhere to be found in their Galt Ocean Mile
apartment. Detectives say Frenna's purse, keys and car were left at her
apartment leading her family to suspect foul play in her disappearance.
Her family has spent the weekend and Monday morning handing out missing persons
fliers and pleading with the public for help in finding Frenna.
Collins said "What makes this case different is she was so close to her
family, and yet no one has heard from her."
Frenna was scheduled to go to court Friday to get a restraining order against
her estranged husband, Gerardo Di Marco. She already has an active domestic
violence order against him, according to Fort Lauderdale Police. Last week, Di
Marco filed for divorce.
In a previous court appearance about a month ago, Frenna told a Broward judge
that her husband was violent and once threatened to throw her off a balcony.
Court records also show that Frenna and her son feared for their lives.
At the courthouse on Friday, her attorney, Caryn Carvo, told CBS4 that she
spoke to Frenna on Wednesday, "She was fine. She knew she had some things
to do get our office some documents. She was obviously concerned over some
safety factors."
Police say last week that DiMarco was being cooperative in their investigation.
Frenna moved to Fort Lauderdale from Montreal about a month ago. Detectives
have searched the area around her apartment building and also checked local
hospitals, jails and airline rosters but found no clues to her whereabouts.
Anyone with information on Frenna is encouraged to contact the Fort Lauderdale
Police Department at
(954) 828-5700 or
Broward County
Crime Stoppers at
954-493-TIPS.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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