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Local woman leading search for her missing brother after he disappeared without a trace

Rosa Cruz-Morales has been sharing search efforts to retrieve her brother on Facebook over the past week.

CLEVELAND — One Northeast Ohio sister is not giving up efforts to find her brother. 

Rosa Cruz-Morales of Cleveland is currently leading the search to find her missing sibling, Jose Irizarry, who disappeared last Thursday, November 12.

According to Cruz-Morales, Irizarry left the Cuyahoga County Justice Department in downtown Cleveland on Thursday night wearing a GPS ankle monitor, which the sister says is due to a mental illness that could pose an issue to his safety. 

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Cruz-Morales says that when family and friends contacted Cleveland Police for help in finding Irizarry, CPD told them that the missing man's last location via the ankle monitor was pinged on Whiskey Island in Cleveland.

On Saturday, the Northeast Ohio woman posted a video on Facebook voicing frustration over what she says is a slow response from the Cleveland Police to investigate the case, as well as evidence she reported. 

"My brother's been missing since Thursday, I reported there was blood stains Saturday we reported bloodstains this morning," Cruz-Morales said in a video posted to Facebook. The sister also said that despite several calls alerting police to potential evidence, CPD didn't arrive until hours after wind and rain had washed it away.

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Cruz-Morales says she worries about potential foul play.

"I'm asking for anyone to please be on the lookout, if you were around that area, at that time and you saw something please say something, if you know anyone who might have been at whiskey island, please come forward and say what you know," Cruz-Morales told 3News. 

If you have any information on the disappearance of Jose Irizarry, please call the Cleveland Police Department at (216) 623-5000. 

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