JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Loved ones want answers in the disappearance of a Nassau County woman.
On Friday, family held a candlelight rally for Katherine Gelaro – also known as Melissa Bodden.
Detectives said her family reported her missing on Christmas Day and she was last seen in Jacksonville Dec. 23. Her family said detectives recently told them her car has been found, but it’s unclear where.
Since she disappeared, her loved ones have searched in wooded areas where her ex-boyfriend was recently arrested. They say they’re not going to stop looking for her until she’s found.
“We’re just doing everything, everything that we possibly can to keep her name and her picture out there, hoping that somebody is going to come forward with some sort of information that can help us find her. Either way, we just want her home," Kim Carl, Bodden’s sister-in-law.
Carl said Bodden would never leave her two sons.
“That’s how we knew something was wrong," Carl said. "She didn’t contact any of us, she wasn’t there for Christmas with her sons so we know something is preventing her from coming home.”
Bodden’s boyfriend, Jerry Salis, was arrested the day before she was reported missing on charges unrelated to her disappearance. Carl said Salis’ arrest record, isn’t a reflection of her sister-in-law, she just happened to get involved with the wrong person.
“I’m still holding on that Melissa is out there and she’s going to see all of this and she’s going to be like man my family and my friends love me we’re definitely hoping and praying for a good outcome," said friend Melissa Durham.
Police haven’t said whether Jerry Salis is considered a person of interest in Bodden’s disappearance.
Her loved ones are conducting a search for Bodden on Jan. 25 at 10 a.m. The location hasn’t been determined yet.