NEW YORK – A man who was seen in the company of a Brooklyn woman who is now missing is being held on a probation violation in Rockland County.
The Rockland County Sheriff's Department says 23-year-old Michael Mele, a registered sex offender, is being held on $50,000 bail.
Detective Lt. William Barbera says Mele violated the terms of his probation by consuming alcohol and by failing to report to his probation officer. Mele's attorney did not return a message seeking comment.
Mele and another man were seen leaving a Manhattan nightclub early Wednesday with 25-year-old Laura Garza.
State police said Garza was last seen that morning in the Orange County community of Newburgh, north of Manhattan, with Mele.
Mele was added to the state sex offender registry in April after being convicted in Rockland County of forcible touching. He was sentenced to six years' probation.
While investigators were treating the case as a possible homicide, "we certainly haven't given up hope she is alive," state police Capt. Wayne Olson said Saturday evening.
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