We received the following message from Anthony Caggiano on Wednesday evening. The message concerns his wife, Christie Caggiano, who is missing. Anthony asks that if anyone sees her, they please text a photo to him at (484) 947-4001 to confirm her identity.
“PLEASE HELP! 53yr old Christie Caggiano is a missing vulnerable adult w/schizophrenia. She is a white female, 5’4”, approx 118 lbs., w/brown hair & brown eyes. She is believed to be living on streets near Central Park West.
[ If you believe you see her, please text a photo to Anthony at (484) 947-4001 to confirm her identity before calling 911. ]
“Christie Caggiano is my beautiful wife. She suffers from severe chronic schizophrenia. She went missing from our PA home on June 13th. Christie is likely living on the streets of NYC, as she did this months ago and nearly starved herself to death. She may be sleeping in Central Park or Riverside Park.
“Christie is completely without identification. She intentionally left her phone, driver’s license, credit cards, bank card, and insurance cards. She does not wish to be identified for fear that she will be hospitalized.
“We believe that Christie is in the Upper West Side Area. She has allegedly been seen on streets spanning W 59th to W 100th. Christie was seen panhandling at W 80th and Amsterdam and again at Riverside Drive at 100th Street in front of the Firefighters Monument. Christie may be eating at pizza places, bakeries, and other cheap eats. Christie was allegedly seen at Osteria Cotta at 513 Columbus Ave [between 84th and 85th Streets] more than once. She may also be at soup kitchens to get food. Christie loves parks and water. She will likely be spending days and/or nights in Riverside Park and/or Central Park. Best to check all churches and parks in UWS. Christie loves dogs, so she may spend afternoons in areas where dogs are walked.
“My family and I are beyond devastated. I am hopeful that the Reddit community and strengths of social media will help us find her.. Please share with anyone you know on the Upper West Side.
“Our 28th wedding anniversary is September 5th. I cannot bear to spend another day without her. Please help and pray for my family.”
If you believe you spot Christie, please text a photo to Anthony at (484) 947-4001 to confirm her identity.
So many questions
Hello Cyrus – I will gladly answer any and all questions that you have. I appreciate that you may have skepticism over this story. I have provided love and care to my wife for the near 28 years that we have been married,, 14+ of which have been with mental illness. I could simply walk away from all of this and not post anything. I have resorted to social media in a desperate attempt to help my wife and restore my family. I have a profound love for Christie and will do anything I can to help her.
UPDATE – First and foremost, I must continually Thank You for your comments,, support and prayers. My family and I sincerely appreciate it..
I spent Friday night and Saturday searching for Christie in the Upper West Side. Sadly, I did not find her. A few wonderful members of the UWS community and I met on Saturday. We are creating a website to centralize updates. We are also coordinating a volunteer search plan the weekend of September 10-12. We will post details and a sign up sheet on the website once it is up and running. Any time that you can give would be greatly appreciated, even if it is just to take some flyers and circulate on your own time.
Also, several people have identified a women that has a green jacket, black pants (with white stripe on side of pant legs).While this person is of similar height and hair color, this is NOT Christie. I don’t know if I can add a picture to this comment; I will make sure that we post the picture to our web page for clarity.
What has been reported (and seems to be most accurate description) is that Christie is wearing grey “parachute” pants (also been described as pajamas). Another description has been a person having a burgundy jacket and layers of clothing, including rubber bands with plastic wrap over shoes to keep them from getting wet.
To reiterate, if you see someone that you believe to be Christie, please send a picture to me at 484-947-4001 if possible. If we cannot connect immediately to verify her identity, then best to call 911 right away. If she is walking/moving, then follow her and stay on the line with 911 dispatch until help arrives. If she is not on the move, then call 911 and engage her in casual conversation so that she does not leave.
I will add the link to the web page as soon as possible. Thank you and God Bless You All!
UPDATE: Thanks to some phenomenal people in the Upper West Side community, we now have the website built to centralize updates and information. The website is HelpFindChristie / http://helpfindchristie.com. The site includes additional pictures, detailed description, message board (so that we can better track recent sightings), contact tab and the flyers.
We are also planning a weekend search on September 10-11 and are seeking any volunteers who are willing to dedicate time to circulate flyers and search the local area. We will be adding a sign up sheet with meetings details on the website ASAP.
My family and I remain hopeful that we will find her soon. I cannot thank all of you enough for your genuine interest and support of our family. Please check out the site and let us know what more we should include.
All of Our Best,
Anthony, Nick (Son), Mike (Son) and the Gosselin & Caggiano Families