The family of a 14-year-old Hazelwood girl fears she ran off with a 24-year-old father of two from Massachusetts or Wisconsin who became her Internet friend after they met a few months ago.
Joan Marie Proto, an eighth-grader at Milliones Middle School, left home at 3 a.m. Tuesday after leaving a note for her family telling them not to worry about her and that she would be fine, city police Cmdr. Maurita Bryant said.
She is believed to have left with the man — whose name may be either Mike or Hugo — in a dark-color Jeep Wrangler that sped off when her mother came out onto the porch, said Joan's brother, Erik.
Joan's friend, 13-year-old Michelle Barabas of Carrick, said the 14-year-old apparently met the older man earlier this summer when he was in Pittsburgh and visiting a mutual friend. He is believed to be of Italian descent.
“She met this guy before our family ever got a computer,” Erik Proto said.
“He would call the house, but we assumed he was a guy she met at school,” Erik Proto said. “Now that I look back, she was always in a hurry to get home and log onto the computer, obviously to talk to this guy.”
After his sister left, Erik Proto said, "I found some e-mail she sent to him saying, ‘Call me at this number; I'm ready to leave with you. I love you.' ”
Joan Proto told the older man that she was 17 or 18 years old, Barabas said.
“She never indicated that she wanted to run away. She just said that he was a really nice person and how much he respected her,” Barabas said.
Bryant said police do not believe Joan Proto was abducted or forced to leave.
“In these cases a lot of times there are enticements, especially if a young girl is having problems at home or at school,” Bryant said.
“All it takes is a sympathetic ear on the Internet to reassure her that by going with this person or confiding in him, all her cares and troubles will be taken away,” Bryant said.
Erik Proto said his younger sister wasn't having any problems at home “except for the basics. ‘It's time to get off the phone. It's time to go to bed. It's time to do your homework.' I never thought anything like this would happen.”
He said his parents were asleep early yesterday when they heard something and realized that Joan was still up. They told her to go to bed and a short time later, heard the kitchen door closing.
“(Her mother) looked in her daughter's bedroom, saw her missing, and looked out the window and saw the Jeep,” Bryant said. “She then saw the victim running in the direction of the Jeep. By the time her parents reached the alleyway, both the Jeep and the victim were gone.”
A bag of clothing and personal belongings were found hidden in the rear of the yard. Police and family members believe she stashed them there while making preparations to leave. They believe she left them in her haste to flee before her parents got to the alley.
Bryant said the girl's the family immediately called police.
City detectives Stacey Hawthorne-Bey, Karen McNeal and Howard Ommert are working with the FBI to locate Joan Proto and the man. Ommert is a computer expert who is trying to find more clues on the Proto family computer. Investigators from other states also are watching for the couple.
“I'm worried. I want her to come home safely,” Erik Proto said. “You hear about these things on TV, but you never think they'll happen to a family member.”
Joan Proto is described as biracial, 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 135 pounds with brown hair and eyes. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a black shirt, black hooded sweatshirt and black boots.
Anyone with information is asked to call city police at (412) 665-4000.
