Police Search for Missing Orlando Mother Who Disappeared After Appearance on Court TV Show
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Authorities are searching for a missing Florida mother of three who disappeared Thursday after appearing on a taped episode of "The People's Court" television show.
Michelle Parker, of Orlando, Fla., was last heard from Thursday afternoon when a text message showed she was in the Waterford Lakes area, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
The 33-year-old mother disappeared on the same day an episode of the court show aired featuring her and her ex-fiance, Dale Smith, who is the father of her 3-year-old twins.
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Parker's Hummer sport-utility vehicle was found abandoned a day later on the west side of Orlando, police officials told the newspaper.
Parker and Smith had appeared in court over a dispute about a $5,000 engagement ring. Parker described a tumultuous relationship with Smith that at times she said became violent.
"He gets pretty malicious and vindictive," Parker said on the show, "and he's a mean person especially when he's been drinking."
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"He shouldn't have put his hands on me and he shouldn't have put his hands on me prior. He shouldn't have left me three or four times over the past year and a half that we've been together," she said.
WFTV reports that Parker's parents do not believe Smith is responsible for their daughter's disappearance, saying they believe she was a "victim of a random crime."
Parker is described as 5-foot-6 with short, dark brown hair. Anyone with information on her disappearance is being urged to call the Orlando Police Department at (321) 235-5300.
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