MIAMI – A family is desperate to find their loved one who was reported missing. Frantz Paraison, 61, was last seen at his assisted living facility in Miami two weeks ago.
"I feel scared because I don't know where my dad is. I just want my dad," Linda Paraison said.
Snapshots of Frantz Paraison in happier times show a beloved grandfather, who for the past year had been staying in a room at a Miami assisted living facility.
"He's fun-loving," Frantz Paraison's daughter, Firaelle Muhammad, said. "Whenever we come visit him, he’s smiling, hugging us, telling us how much he appreciates us for coming by. He's a very kind person and he wouldn't hurt a fly."
Linda Paraison said she was the last relative to see her father April 9 at the Calvinelle Group Home, in the 1500 block of Northwest 62nd Terrace.
"I come here once a week to make sure he's OK," she said.
But when his eldest daughter showed up last week, Linda Paraison discovered her father was missing. His room and belongings were virtually intact, and a meal he apparently prepared for himself was only half-eaten.
Relatives said Frantz Paraison was last seen at the ALF on April 5.
Frantz Paraison's daughters said he suffers from schizophrenia.
"We trusted them to take care of him and now they're not telling us -- they're not helping us find him. They're not saying nothing," Linda Paraison said.
"It's a lot of confusion," Muhammad added. "They keep switching the story."
Miami police are now on the case and has issued a missing persons alert.
Frantz Paraison is 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs about 110 pounds.
His family is now taking matters into their own hands, handing out their own flyers and retaining an attorney.
"I don't know if he's eaten, I don't know if he's showered," Frantz Paraison's daughter, Bianca Paraison, said. "I just want him to be OK -- that's all I'm thinking about right now."
The family's attorney, Bonnie Navin, told Local 10 News that there was no legal reason for Frantz Paraison to leave the facility.
"He came here as a medical patient -- to this facility as a schizophrenic who should not be left unaccounted for and they have to answer for that," she said.
Frantz Paraison's daughters said they want their father to know that they love him and that they're looking for him.
"You can come here, you can come home," Linda Paraison said.
Relatives said they have been given conflicting information by the ALF. They said they were initially told Frantz Paraison was removed from the facility for nonpayment of rent, but the family's attorney has proof that the rent has been paid each month.
Later, the family said they were told an employee called an Uber for Frantz Paraison and he was dropped off near Northwest 14th Street and Interstate 95.
An attorney representing the private group home owner declined to comment on the story. Attorney Larry Metsch said he was still delving into the issue.
Anyone with information about Frantz Paraison's whereabouts is asked to call the Miami Police Department at 305-579-6111.