Arizona Kindergarten Teacher Missing After Bailing Felon Out Of Jail
A kindergarten teacher from Glendale, Arizona, has been missing for almost a week after bailing a man out of jail. The family of 44-year-old Cathryn Gorospe hasn’t heard from her since she posted bail for 27-year-old Charlie Malzahn.
Gorospe bailed him out of jail at around 10 p.m. Friday — the last time she was seen. Gorospe’s roommate reported her missing Sunday after she hadn’t returned home to take care of her dog, according to The Arizona Republic. Gorospe said before she left that she was going to post bail for him, have dinner and then come home but never arrived, her roommate said.
Police received reports of a carjacking in Tempe Sunday and authorities determined the suspect was Malzahn. Police said he was driving Malzahn’s car — the inside was stained with blood — and tried to buy items at a store with Gorospe’s credit and debit cards. He was arrested by Flagstaff Police for aggravated assault, armed robbery, theft by means of transportation, theft of credit card and hit and run in connection with the car accident, according to the Associated Press.
But police haven’t named Malzahn as a suspect in Gorospe’s disappearance. It was not immediately clear how the two knew each other or what the extent of their relationship was, though Flagstaff Police said they were involved romantically at some point. Malzahn is the stepson of the chief of police in the nearby town of Williams, Arizona, but the pair reportedly had not spoken or seen each other in more than a year, Williams Police Department spokesman Lt. Darrell Hixson told the Arizona Daily Sun.
“The first I heard of him was when she went missing,” her brother, Cory Gorospe, told The Arizona Republic Wednesday. “
Malzahn reportedly had a long rap sheet and was well known to law enforcement before Gorospe went missing, according to KNXV-TV. Upon his arrest Monday, police said he assaulted two officers while attempting to escape. He was reportedly not cooperating with police in the investigation into Gorospe’s disappearance.
Flagstaff Police Sgt. Cory Runge said authorities believed Gorospe had been harmed. Volunteers and family gathered Wednesday to search the area along Highway 89 for any sign of the woman.
“Hope’s all you got,” her brother said. “You hold onto it.”
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