The mother of a young Colorado woman last seen on Thanksgiving said she remains hopeful her daughter will be found.
Kelsey Berreth was last seen publicly entering a Safeway grocery store in Woodland Park, just north of Colorado Springs. Her fiancé said he last saw her on Thanksgiving afternoon, when he went to her home to pick up their daughter. But the 29-year-old mom wasn’t reported missing until 10 days later by her mother, Cheryl Berreth.
“I can't think of anywhere she's gone where she hasn't told me,” she told NBC’s Joe Fryer. “It's just not in her character to do something, to just take off and be gone."
Berreth said she spoke with her daughter, Kelsey, twice on Thanksgiving. She said her daughter initially just needed a recipe.
“Her voice was fine. It was a normal day for her,” she said.
Kelsey Berreth texted her employer, Pueblo-based Doss Aviation, days later on Nov. 25 to say she wouldn’t be at work the following week, Woodland Park's police chief said at a news conference Monday. He said she also texted her fiancé, Patrick Frazee, that day.
Frazee's attorney said his client has been cooperating with law enforcement. Frazee has voluntarily released his phone to be searched by investigators and has provided cheek swabs for DNA samples.
"I have no reason to believe he's a suspect, and the police have not isolated him as a suspect in this case,” attorney Jeremy Loew said.
The couple, who do not live together, have a strong bond, said Cheryl Berreth, who lives in Idaho but has been staying in Colorado during the investigation.
"The relationship has been good. They're loving," she said.
She remains hopeful her daughter will be found.
"I still know somebody knows where she's at. Somebody has seen her. There's more information out there. Somebody just needs to realize, recognize, say something,” she said.
Police say the case remains a missing persons investigation.
"In the back of mind, sure, there's a possibility something else could have happened," Berreth said. "But it does me no good to go down that road. And I don't think it does Kelsey any good either."
She said she doesn't find the speculation circulating helpful to the case.
"Don't try to figure this out – we've got people trying to do that. Just share the photo There's more important things to be done," she said.
Frazee’s lawyer said his client failed to appear at Monday's news conference about Kelsey because he only was given an hour’s notice and would have shown up if he had more time. He also said he has advised Frazee against speaking publicly to avoid tainting the investigation.