DETROIT (WXYZ) - Caitlin Tressler has been missing since the night Detroit police left her home, convinced she wasn't in danger.

On March 27th, Caitlin's father, Mike, called police to report that Caitlin was the victim of domestic violence. But the three officers who responded would leave Tressler's home without ever setting foot inside.

 They didn't go in, they didn't separate them, they didn't protect her,  Mike Tressler said in an interview from his home in Colorado.

 I feel like I let her down; I shouldn't have called the police,  he said.  I feel like I'm the one who caused it to escalate by calling them. It's something I struggle with. 


DPD chief: Sergeant should have entered home of Detroit woman who is now missing

Caitlin Tressler was a musician and an artist who moved to Detroit from Virginia only a month before her disappearance. She was looking for a fresh start, her father said, and to escape her former boyfriend.

On that night in March, Caitlin was texting with her father through the messaging app WhatsApp, telling him she was in danger and sending him a photo of her face.

 She texted me a picture of her battered face, and it was late at night,  her father recalled.  And I saw that, and I said: 'What happened?' And she said, 'what would you guess?' 

7 News Detroit reviewed a transcript of the WhatsApp conversation from that night.

 Looks like you got hit or mugged or a car accident,  Mike Tressler wrote after seeing the photo.

Caitlin responded:  No, I'm at home. He's on the couch. 

 He,  Mike said, was Caitlin's ex-boyfriend who had followed her from Virginia to Detroit. He has prior convictions out of state for robbery and grand larceny.

While Detroit police have named him a person of interest in Caitlin's disappearance, 7 News Detroit is not naming him because he has not been charged with any crime.

 I'm not safe because he's not on the right meds,  Caitlin messaged her father, adding that she was  not doing well physically  and complained of  wooziness. 

 I said that'

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