Raeann said Cassie usually tried to meet her daughter's father, Marcus Spanevelo, at a public location – typically a Walmart parking lot – but that he had recently been changing the meet-up locations. This time, the pair scheduled to meet in the parking lot of nearby Juana’s Pagodas restaurant.
[snip]
"Cassie,I’m trying to call you.What’s going on?" he wrote, in a series of text messages provided to Fox News Digital. His first message was sent at 9:40 p.m. Sunday. He then sent a second message that stated: "I’m freaking out case call me as soon as you get this message."
[snip]
A response came shortly thereafter, and stated: "I’m sorry, car was acting up, and I broke my phone.
Marcus is working on it.
I will stay at his place tonight. He is paying me some money to do some stuff around his house."
A later message from Cassie’s phone stated, "Let me see if he can get this fixed and I’ll call you."
[snip]
"No answer on the phone," Raeann said, of when her father tried to call Spanevelo. "But then he texted him a long paragraph and said,
‘Yeah, Cassie was having troubles. I was going to help her with her phone, but she ended up getting all upset and acting crazy,'" Raeann went on. Spanevelo did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request seeking comment and information.
[snip]
When asked why Spanevelo would be there
[eta Birmingham Alabama for clarity], Johnson said he had work in the area. Johnson added that the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office’s entire Major Crimes Unit, which consists of 10 detectives, is working the case.
"We are intent on speaking with him again," Johnson said. He would not discuss Spanevelo’s recollection of events.
Missing Florida mom Cassie Carli felt 'extremely' unsafe around child's father before disappearance: sister