Karina Vetrano’s father urges Katie Suarez’s dad to make justice his life mission

A retired FDNY firefighter who searched for his missing daughter a decade ago is now calling on the father of a recently attacked jogger to pursue justice with the same intensity. The connection stems from the striking similarities between two violent crimes that took place in New York City.

On Friday evening, 28-year-old bank teller Katie Suarez was left brain-dead after a stranger stabbed her in the neck while she jogged on a Brooklyn waterfront promenade. Preliminary findings from law enforcement indicate she was not robbed or sexually assaulted, and no specific motive has been identified yet. The attacker is believed to have been a random stranger.

Karina Vetrano, 70, told The Post that the incident triggered a painful memory from August 2, 2016, when his 30-year-old daughter, Karina, went for a run in Spring Creek Park. Vetrano, who usually ran with his daughter, stayed home that day due to back pain. He recalled telling her it was not a good idea to go alone, to which she replied, “Don’t worry, Daddy, I’ll be OK.”

Those were the last words Vetrano ever heard from his daughter. After thirty minutes, he felt a bad feeling and called her repeatedly without success. He went to search for her and eventually found her body. She had been sexually abused and fatally strangled. Vetrano said he stopped his multimillion-dollar business immediately to focus on finding the culprit, posting reward posters daily in the community.

Vetrano sees a parallel in the actions of Katie Suarez’s father, who also called his daughter when she failed to arrive at their meet-up spot and then went searching. Both fathers ultimately found their children. Vetrano urged Suarez’s father to make getting justice his life mission, noting that public outrage can help fuel the search.

“It has to go viral like Karina went viral,” Vetrano said. He warned that if the case is swept under the rug, it becomes just another victim. He offered to speak with Suarez’s father to provide support, stating that only other parents who have lost children to random violence truly understand the experience.

Vetrano added that he finds some solace in knowing his daughter lived a full life. Karina Vetrano was a St. John’s University graduate with a master’s degree in speech pathology who worked as a tutor and aspiring writer.