CAPE CORAL, Fla. — It's been three weeks since 56-year-old Barry Schmalbach was reported missing, and his family is holding onto hope as police continue searching for the Cape Coral man.
Schmalbach's half-sister, Emily Scaletta, came to Cape Coral one week ago from Chicago. She put up flyers at Jaycee Park, asking anyone with information to come forward. Those flyers are still up today.
"You hope that when you choose to go down there, when you’re able to go down there, you find something," Scaletta said.
Scaletta is now back home, waiting for answers.
"With limited information, it was hard leaving and still not knowing where Barry is," she said.
Since she left, Scaletta said police have called her and said they're still working on leads.
Also since her return home, Barry Schmalbach's boyfriend, Christopher Davis, has been arrested. He was arrested on a 2018 South Carolina warrant for probation violation. The violation, according to the arrest warrant obtained by Fox 4, says he did not report to his probation officer after moving from Florida to South Carolina. The original charge in the case is for grand larceny, records show.
Davis was arrested by Cape Coral Police on August 1 for the warrant and was extradited to Lexington County in South Carolina. He faced a judge on Friday and his bond was set at $50,000.
His name comes up in the investigation into Barry's disappearance. The missing persons report shows Davis was the last person to see him on July 19. He told police that Barry got into someone's car or an Uber outside the Cruisers bar and left; however, police say Barry was last seen at his apartment.
Friends reported Barry missing on July 22. Since then, Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore announced that Barry's case is considered suspicious, they believe foul play is involved and they have a person of interest. That person has not been named.
"A person of interest is simply saying that there are people that we’re looking at, there are people on our radar, but not enough at this point to make an arrest," said Trish Routte with Southwest Florida Crimestoppers.
She's been apart of many missing persons cases over her 20 years at Crimestoppers. She said in this case, there are several challenges.
"The struggle is keeping this fresh on people’s minds," she explained. "Every day that passes, it makes it a little bit more difficult."
It's a worry Emily has, too.
"We don’t want people to forget that he’s missing," she said. "We’re not going to forget about him by any means."
His friends are not forgetting him either, and they're still helping Barry in other ways. On Friday, they began moving his things out of his southeast Cape Coral apartment because of an eviction notice for Davis.
It's a harsh reality Emily is trying to make light of.
"I joked with mom and I said 'Hey, he’s going to be really mad when he comes back and he doesn’t have an apartment or furniture anymore,'" she said.
With very little information, and no update from police Friday, Emily is trying to stay positive.
"You just have to be hopeful in this case," she said. "We don’t want him to be forgotten."
The Lee County Sheriff's Office told Fox 4 they're also helping Cape Coral Police in the investigation.
If you know where Barry is or have any information on his disappearance, you're asked to call the Cape Coral Police Department or Crimestoppers. There's a $16,000 reward for any information.
