Private Investigator from Edgewater missing

EDGEWATER, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Private investigator Stephen Paoletti, 44, of Edgewater, hasn’t been seen since last Friday, and with each passing day his family fears the worst.

“Usually he texts he calls, he either emails me, not a day goes by that he doesn’t text me or call me then I knew something was wrong,” said Tony Paoletti’s, Stephen’s father.

His parents flew in from Buffalo, New York Friday to help his friends pass out flyers – they’re offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to their son. On Friday they focused on an area off of US 1, and other parts of the Edgewater community where Paoletti lives, hoping someone may have seen him

“We’ve been posting them locally in all Edgewater businesses -- places that we know Stephen frequented,” said Connie Paoletti, Stephen’s mother.

His parents say Paoletti spent six years as a police officer before becoming a private investigator, the Volusia County Sheriff’s office put out a Be On The Lookout alert after his friend didn't hear from in four days and reported him missing --  at this point they don’t suspect foul play but continue to investigate, digging for clues at his home and talking to those he knew.

"We just want to find our son, it’s so out of character for him that we can’t help but think, that something is really truly amiss," Paoletti.

Investigators say Paoletti’s car was still at his residence, they say the last person to see him was his neighbor on June 2.