Missing Rachel Schwartz never made it to home for vets in crisis after leaving ex's house, family says

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The family of missing Florida veteran Rachel Schwartz, a mother of two who served in the U.S. Army in Iraq, says they no longer believe she went to a home for vets in crisis after leaving the house of an ex-boyfriend outside Tampa.

"He is now 100% the last person to see her," Schwartz's brother-in-law Benjamin Schrupp told WHD News Digital Tuesday.

When contacted by phone Tuesday, the ex-boyfriend, John Scorah, said "not interested" and hung up.

Schwartz told her father and at least one other friend that she was afraid of Scorah before she vanished, according to her family.

FLORIDA VET, MOTHER OF 2 MISSING AFTER TELLING DAD SHE'S AFRAID OF HER EX, FAMILY SAYS

Rachel Schwartz waves an American flag in the porch in an undated family photo.

Rachel Schwartz waves an American flag in the porch in an undated family photo. (Benjamin Schrupp)

"Her last message to my dad was that she wanted to come home, and she was afraid of her ex," Schwartz's sister, Elizabeth Schrupp, wrote in a Facebook post. 

The family had believed Schwartz left Scorah's and went to stay at a home in Spring Hill, where the owner was known to provide rooms for vets in crisis on Jan. 31, the date Schrupp says she was seen on Ring doorbell camera video leaving her ex's house with luggage.

"You’re the last person that saw my sister. Be a man and stand up, and help us find her."

— Benjamin Schrupp, brother-in-law of missing Rachel Schwartz

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That was also the same day as their most recent contact and when they say her phone and social media went quiet.

But after speaking with Joel Dunn, at whose Spring Hill home they thought she had sought refuge, the family learned that he last saw her days earlier. 

Schwartz, 33, suffers from PTSD and other stress-related illness, according to her family, and had a rocky, on-and-off relationship with Scorah that included allegations of abuse.

Rachel Schwartz in an undated family photo.

Rachel Schwartz in an undated family photo. (Benjamin Schrupp)

She had moved back to Minnesota to get away from him, according to Schrupp, but in early January returned to Florida to visit her two sons, who she shares with a different man.

Dunn also said that Schwartz was "pretty stressed out" during her stay because she was torn between returning to her home state of Minnesota to take part in a VA class and staying in Florida to be closer to her sons.

"When she left where I was, she told me that her boyfriend was coming to pick her up," he said.

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That was around Jan. 27, he said, adding that he did not see who picked her up that day. 

The family, however, believes she left with Scorah, noting that she was recorded on his doorbell cam days later leaving.

"Rachel, I have everything that you need," a man's voice can be heard calling after her as she pulls a suitcase and carry-on bag down the driveway. "I'm asking for one more day."

Rachel Schwartz in an undated photo.

Rachel Schwartz in an undated photo. (Benjamin Schrupp)

Dunn said she did not return to his home that day.

"She never came back [or] called," he told WHD News Digital. "We tried to contact her, but she did not respond."

Something seemed wrong later when her mother called from Minnesota and said she wasn't responding to her either, he said.

"That was not like Rae’s personality at all," he said. "She always stayed in touch with everyone, especially her mom."

According to her sister, she also missed a Feb. 4 flight home.

Court documents obtained by WHD News Digital show Scorah was accused of domestic violence battery in April after allegedly striking Schwartz in the face with his shoulder and causing a bruise.

Read the criminal report affidavit (Mobile users go here)

"There was a domestic violence call to the house, John was arrested actually, went to jail, and I believe there was a no-contact order," Ben Schrupp said Tuesday.

Court records show he was ordered to surrender his firearms while the case was pending – but prosecutors abandoned the charges last fall.

The state's attorney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WHD News Digital.

Rachel Schwartz gives

Rachel Schwartz gives "two thumbs up" after returning to her home state of Minnesota. (Benjamin Schrupp)

"You’re the last person that saw my sister," Schrupp said of Scorah Tuesday. "Be a man and stand up, and help us find her."

Dunn said he had only met Scorah once, about three years ago.

"Normal guy," he said. "She did not seem uncomfortable when I saw him."

Rachel Schwartz was last seen on Jan. 31 and missed a Feb. 4 flight to Minnesota, according to her sister.

Rachel Schwartz was last seen on Jan. 31 and missed a Feb. 4 flight to Minnesota, according to her sister. (Rachel Schwartz)

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Schwartz is described as 5 feet, 2 inches tall with blue eyes and blonde hair and weighing around 100 pounds. She has visible freckles when not wearing makeup, often wears hats or big sunglasses and may wear her hair in a military braid.

She was last seen wearing blue pants, a white sleeveless shirt and carrying a large black suitcase and an orange and black carry-on bag. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hernando County Sheriff's Office at 352-754-6830. 


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