98 replies to this topic

[Kelly]

http://www.usatoday....ards26_ST_N.htm

Cards, drink coasters used to generate tips in cold cases


10/26/2010
By Jeff Martin, USA TODAY

Nov. 6 will mark seven years since the horrible day when Tom Lucas' son Brian and three others were gunned down in one of South Carolina's most notorious unsolved slayings.

The shooting occurred at Superbike Motorsports, outside Spartanburg, S.C., and claimed the lives of Brian Lucas, who was store manager, owner Scott Ponder and two others: bookkeeper Beverly Guy and mechanic Chris Sherbert.

As the anniversary approaches, Tom Lucas and relatives of other murder victims and missing persons are hoping a new idea might spark fresh leads on cold cases such as theirs. They are approaching bars and restaurants to see whether management would be willing to use drink coasters with photos of crime victims printed on them, including a hotline number for people to call in tips.

For the past several years, playing cards with information about unsolved crimes have been distributed in jails and prisons nationwide in hope of generating fresh leads in cold cases.

Now, drink coasters with the same aim are being distributed to bars in Florida and South Carolina, says Dan Turner, founder of Effective Playing Cards & Promotions, which partners with law enforcement and Crime Stoppers agencies to print the cards.

"I think this could touch more people outside, in the general public," Lucas says. "My wife and I, we've been married 40 years. Our goal was, what can we do to help? Nothing is going to bring back Brian, but what can we do to help?"

Lucas helped persuade South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, and corrections officials to distribute playing cards in 2008. A $25,000 reward is being offered in the Superbike case, sheriff's investigator William Gary says.

"We've got evidence in this case, but not the right person that it points to directly," he says.

Participants in this month's Florida Association of Crime Stoppers state conference in Fort Lauderdale heard a presentation about the coaster idea from Wayne Cross, a Crime Stoppers coordinator in central Florida, Turner says.

Other victims' relatives are enthusiastic.

"I think it's a great idea," says Doug Lyall of Milton, N.Y., whose daughter Suzanne has been missing since 1998.

Suzanne Lyall, a 19-year-old University at Albany student, disappeared after leaving her off-campus job. Her case was detailed on the 10 of clubs in a deck of playing cards featuring unsolved cases distributed in New York jails in 2008.

"Restaurants and bars can be high-traffic areas, and people there like to talk," Lyall says. "Our belief is to get the word out as far and wide as you can, whether it's within the criminal element or the general population."

Nebraska State Patrol Sgt. Glenn Elwell estimates that up to 20 other states are using such playing cards in jails and prisons.

The idea behind the coasters, he says, is similar to the one behind the playing cards: to help detectives find the break they need to solve a case.

"There's a lot of information ... that goes untouched, unheard," Elwell says. "Now instead of one person knowing what happened in that case, now four know and one of them might step forward.

"You never know what could be generated from a tip or a lead."

The idea for the playing cards began in Florida in 2005, where three cases have been solved since the first set of cards were introduced in the Polk County Jail, says Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Tommy Ray.

"We put 7,500 decks of cards in that county jail, and within six months, we had solved our first homicide," says Ray, who came up with the idea after years of interviewing prisoners. He says he knew some of them who had information would come forward if given the opportunity.

In the cases where inmates reported tips based on the playing cards, Ray says, "they said to me, 'This could be my mother, father, sister or brother, and it was the right thing to do.' "

One inmate recognized a card's picture of Thomas Grammer, who was shot to death in his Lakeland, Fla., home six years ago. Two suspects have since been arrested in Grammer's slaying, Ray says.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police has not studied the strategy "but any new or innovative tool that helps solve crime is a good thing," says Meredith Ward, IACP's legislative representative.

Elsewhere:

• In Indiana, the state has just printed its second edition of playing cards for prisons and jails, says Doug Garrison, spokesman for the Department of Corrections. "We have received tips based on offenders viewing these cards and they have advanced some of our investigations," he says.

• In Missouri, playing cards featuring unsolved cases were distributed to jails and prisons last year, then-colonel James Keathley of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement announcing the project.

• In Louisiana, the Crime Stoppers website has photos and details of the 52 unsolved homicide and missing persons cases featured on playing cards released in March.

[Lori Davis]

http://www.kansascit...kc-student.html

Event highlights UMKC student who disappeared in Chicago four years ago.
By JIM SULLINGER
The Kansas City Star
Posted on Fri, Nov. 19, 2010 10:37 PM

It will be four years on Sunday that Jesse Ross, nicknamed Opie, went to a Model United Nations Conference in Chicago and disappeared.

The 19-year-old University of Missouri-Kansas City sophomore left a downtown Chicago hotel Nov. 21 and hasn’t been seen since.

That hasn’t stopped family and friends, however, from hoping for his return.

“You can never give up hope,” said Donald Ross, his father.

And there was plenty of that on hand Friday night as Donald Ross and his wife, Donna Ross, of Belton held the fifth OpieFest, a celebration of hope that Jesse will be found and a fundraiser to help defray expenses incurred by the family when they travel to Chicago to look for Jesse.

His father will make another trip soon to talk with a Chicago detective assigned to the case and to put together another OpieFest there.

“We want to establish awareness of Jesse’s case and raise funds for our Chicago trip,” he said.

All through the evening, people arrived at the event at St. Regis Catholic Church, 8941 James A. Reed Road. The Burnt Ends, a six-member country band, played for the crowd. Many wore buttons that read “Missing: Jesse Ross.”

In the middle of the button was a picture of a smiling young man with glasses and close-cropped red hair.

But his picture wasn’t the only one on display. A plea to find a missing person was at almost every table.

There was Kara E. Kopetsky, who disappeared after leaving Belton High School on May 4, 2007. And Jerry Tang, Emillie Hoyt, Elsha Marie Rivera, Suzanne Gloria Lyall and Jason Jolkowski.

“It’s like an epidemic,” said Rhonda Beckford of Belton, Kara’s mother.

Like many who came, she was there for support.

“When something like this happens, you feel like you’re alone,” she said. “When you meet other people, you know you’re not alone. We have to support each other.”

Members of the band Dead Giveaway were there. Jesse managed the band for two years and became close friends with its young members.

“He loved us and we loved him,” said Brandon Woodall, the drummer.

Stephen Lee graduated from O’Hara High School with Jesse in 2005.

“He was a firecracker,” Lee said. “He was very outgoing and never afraid to speak his mind.”

Lee said he was going to college in the Chicago area when Jesse arrived for his first Model United Nations Conference in 2005. Lee showed Jesse the town.

He was supposed to meet Jesse again in 2006 but never made the connection.

Lee heard Jesse was missing when he returned to Kansas City for Thanksgiving that year. Friday night, he attended OpieFest, one of many hoping Jesse and all the others will be found.

[Kelly]

Doug and Mary Lyall have announced the date of their annual NY State Missing Persons Day as April 9, 2011 in Albany, NY. If you're in that area, make plans to attend.

[Kelly]

http://poststar.com/...1cc4c002e0.html

Finding solace after grief


By LYDIA WHEELER  The Post-Star | Posted: Sunday, January 30, 2011 1:00 am |

The last 13 years have been a balancing act for Doug and Mary Lyall of Ballston Spa.

Their daughter, Suzanne, has been missing since 1998.

"On one hand, if you were looking at this from the outside at the facts and figures, the odds of someone coming back after this period of time are remote," Doug Lyall said.

Suzanne was 19 and a sophomore at the University at Albany when she disappeared. She was last seen on March 2, 1998, at about 9:45 p.m. getting off an Albany city bus at Collins Circle, near the visitors parking lot on the college campus.

She was coming home from working her part-time job at Crossgates Mall. Although it was only a three- to five-minute walk from the bus stop to Suzanne's dorm room, she never arrived.

Without knowing for sure if Suzanne is deceased, Lyall said, there is always the possibility that something strange happened and she is alive.

Maybe she had amnesia and walked off, maybe someone took her and she's living somewhere, he wondered aloud, as he sat in his living room last week.

"As long as those things are still possible, I find myself balancing between those two fates," he said.

Liz Smith, director of the The Community Hospice of the Capital Region, said while people are naturally resilient creatures, traumatic events change their perception of the world.

Those occurrences don't even need to happen directly to you for you to feel grief, Smith said.

And everyone grieves in a unique way, for however long it may last.

"To this day it's right below the surface. It's always there," Lyall said.

Grieving together

Because a traumatic memory does not get processed in the brain the same way as a normal memory, Smith said, it's free-floating.

"When you're in an aroused state, your brain changes the way it functions," she said.

Trauma can come from an intensely personal event, or something that happened in the community which resonates with you.

The recent weeks have had their share of traumatic events.

On Dec. 22, 12-year-old Nicholas Naumkin was shot and killed by a 12-year-old friend in Wilton, according to police.

Five days later, Christalin Canavan, a 15-year-old Hadley-Luzerne student died in her sleep.

Less than two weeks later, on Jan. 3, Naumkin's grieving grandfather Oleg Moston, 77, of Saratoga Springs, was killed when he was hit by a car and two tractor-trailers as he tried to cross the Northway, just one week after he laid his grandson to rest.

On Jan. 8, a violent attack in Tuscon, Ariz., on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords left six people killed and 12 wounded.

That night, 18-year-old Amanda Deuel, of Corinth, died unexpectedly.

"When these things happen, it challenges your world view," Smith said.

Tragic events can be compelling and it's human nature, she said, to want to figure out what's happening, so many people look to the media.

"It's part of the appraisal part of our brain that's like, ‘What is this, what is going on here?' " she said.

But that natural draw can be problematic if someone experiencing grief stays tuned in too long.

"It re-exposes our brain over and over again, so it really entrenches the material and makes it harder for us to get back to a normal physiology," she said.

Learning to cope

Grief is never simple to deal with, but Smith said there are some steps to take to help ease the pain.

Any kind of bilateral exercise, like walking, Smith said, will help regulate the brain.

"It stimulates both sides of the brain and it helps the memory get located where it needs to," she said.

When Doug Lyall started talking about pickle ball, his eyes lit up for the first time during an interview last week.

"It's played with a racquet and a whiffle ball. It's a physical activity and its good for me. It allows me to feel better and socially be around other people," he said.

Most importantly, Smith said, those who are grieving need to take care of their health.

"We need to sleep and eat nutritious foods and move our body. We need to be with people who care for us and do productive work, all of which is very challenging. Given the impact of the loss we get more and more disorganized," she said.

It's OK to be tired and have little appetite, Smith said, so long as you don't stop moving around or eating.

Get off the couch, she said, and go for a walk, even if it's just to the mailbox.

Smith also suggested turning off the TV, turn on some music and find someone who will hold your hand.

While television is full of stimuli you can't control, Smith said, music could soothe your soul.

But since grief is unique, there is no perfect treatment.

"There's no template that works for everyone," Doug Lyall said.

"But part of what determines how a person can cope, has to do with how they can look at the world."

Tragedy into action

Mary Lyall said she and her husband do everything in their power to keep the search for Suzanne going.

"Rewards, posters, vigils. We try to keep Suzanne's name out and nothing happens. It's awful to feel this helpless. So, we've tried to latch on to things that we have some control over," she said.

The Lyalls established The Center for Hope, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing resources to educate, assist and support families and friends coping with the disappearance of a loved one.

In the wake of a tragedy, Amy Malloy, regional director for the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, said getting involved, educating others and meeting people who have had similar experiences can be therapeutic.

"If we think of a lot of things that have happened in the country in terms of policies or legislation, sometimes it's in the aftermath of a tragedy or in grief where people are able to kind of mobilize themselves and do something that helps prevent others from having the same loss," she said.

Through the Center for Hope, the Lyalls were able to push for new legislation in Suzanne's name.

In 2003, President George W. Bush signed Suzanne's Law, which requires police to notify the National Crime Information Center of any missing person younger than 21.

Previously, police were only required to report missing children younger than 18.

In 2000, The Suzanne Lyall Campus Safety Security Act, which requires all New York state colleges to develop plans for prompt investigations of missing students and violent offenses committed on campus, passed as a federal law.

If they didn't do everything they could to find Suzanne, Doug Lyall said it would be difficult to live.

In the time between, he said, "We have a relatively, ‘normal' life."

"There's no way our life will ever be the same again, there's no way. Even if Suzy walked through the door tomorrow," he said.

Instead, the Lyalls said they have learned to live with a new meaning or normalcy.

Suzanne would be 32 years old now. Her missing persons case is still open and the Lyalls are still grieving.

"It's like a scab," Mary Lyall said. "It's healed enough just where it's about to fall off, but it's not quite ready. You pick it and it starts to bleed all over again. It's how you go through this kind of life," she said, beginning to cry.

"When you think it's almost gone, it comes back to haunt you again."

[Denise Harrison]

http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Missing-never-forgotten-1330425.php#ixzz1J6CmIeWQ

Missing, never forgotten

In Albany, relatives reflect on those lost and seek solace, energy, support from others

By KENNETH C. CROWE II Staff writer
Published 12:01 a.m., Sunday, April 10, 2011

ALBANY -- The 10th annual New York State Missing Persons Day was an opportunity to remember those who are missing and to find new strength to push ahead.

Whether they were attending their first gathering at the State Museum or had made it every year, participants walked energized and reflective.

"As you learn about this, you realize how many people are missing. It's stunning," said Tina Hamilton of Coeymans Hollow, who was at Saturday's event for the first time.

"You are energized," said Jim Viola of Bogota, N.J., who has attended every year.

Viola's wife, Patricia Viola, went missing Feb. 13, 2001. He's worked closely with Doug and Mary Lyall, who run the Center for Hope and the Missing Persons Day.

Hamilton came to the event after volunteering with her husband, Tom Hamilton, in the efforts to raise awareness and find Audrey May Herron, who disappeared Aug. 29, 2002, while on her way home from Catskill to Freehold.

Hamilton and Viola were among 125 people who attended the afternoon speeches and ceremony to remember the nearly 4,000 people missing in New York state and the 85,000 missing nationwide.

April 6 is the official state Missing Persons Day. It's also the birthday of Suzanne Lyall, who disappeared March 2, 1998, when she was last seen exiting a CDTA bus at the state University at Albany campus after finishing work at Crossgates Mall.

Doug and Mary Lyall of Milton have worked tirelessly to help others with missing relatives. Suzanne would now be 33 years old.

"As we light this candle, may this candle light the way home," Mary Lyall said as she and Marie Murphy lit a candle of hope in the State Museum's Huxley Theater. The candle was surrounded by photos of missing loved ones and T-shirts printed to further the causes of finding them.

Doug Lyall said the sting of having a missing family member is not going to go away. But, he said, it is important to assist others and to resolve to not give up.

The Lyalls presented the Center for Hope's Hope Recognition Award to Frank Williams, chairman of the Ride for Missing Children, of Utica.

"It was 19 years ago today that I became the father of a missing child," Williams said recalling April 9, 1992, when his daughter ran away.

"I was one of the lucky ones," Williams said. "Our three-year journey ended with the return of our missing child."

Since then, Williams has worked to aid other families nationwide dealing with the disappearance of a family member. He assists families with the various aspects of finding the missing family member.

[Kelly]

http://saratogian.co...wmode=fullstory


Families focus on hope at 10th annual Missing Persons Day

Published: Saturday, April 09, 2011

By CECELIA MARTINEZ
For The Saratogian

ALBANY — What would you do if someone you love suddenly disappeared? For the more than 200 attendees at Saturday’s 10th annual New York State Missing Persons Day Ceremony, that question is the stark reality for the friends and family of those affected by the pain and uncertainty of the unexplained disappearance of a loved one.

“Missing Persons Day provides families of missing loved ones education, support and guidance for each other,” said Doug Lyall, who along with his wife, Mary, founded the Center for HOPE after their daughter, Suzanne Lyall, disappeared from the University at Albany campus in 1998. The Center for HOPE hosts the annual event at the New York State Museum Cultural Education Center, where families, many wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the names and images of their missing loved ones, attended a full day of speakers and sessions prior to the afternoon ceremony. “Collectively, we offer one another hope,” Doug Lyall said.

Please read more at link above..

[Kelly]

http://www.timesunio...her-1463477.php

Ride dedicated to missing woman's father
Organizers of motorcycle rally remember Audrey May Herron's late father

By CAROL DEMARE Staff writer
Published 12:02 a.m., Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Part of the proceeds, around $2,000, from the bike run is donated to the Center for Hope in Ballston Spa, founded by Doug and Mary Lyall, parents of missing University at Albany student Suzanne Lyall, who vanished in March 1998. Suzanne, then 19 and a sophomore computer sciences major, disappeared after stepping off a bus on campus from her job at a computer store at Crossgates Mall.

"Ray was always real supportive of what we do," Doug Lyall said Tuesday. Turk attended missing persons day events sponsored by the Lyalls.

"We came from real different backgrounds," Lyall said. "But when we met him, we could connect."

"And that's what happens with families," Lyall said. "There's that common denominator, and you pick up on it right away, even though you may have nothing else in common."

In addition to the Lyalls, several other parents of missing children plan on attending the motorcycle benefit, Parker said. The run, as usual, leaves at 10 a.m. from Brennan's School House Inn on Route 81 in Earlton. Signup begins at 7 a.m.

Read more: http://www.timesunio...p#ixzz1S82M6zps

[Jenn]

Parents of missing students left with unanswered questions

Published: Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011 11:47 p.m. MDT

By Shawn Cohen, The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News

.......

Doug and Mary Lyall of Ballston Spa, N.Y., experienced their own worst nightmare in March 1998 with the disappearance of their 20-year-old daughter, Suzanne. Like Jennie Wilson, Suzanne was a student at the University of Albany. She was returning at night from her job at a computer store and was last seen getting off a bus on campus.

"Up until the age of 18, they're home with you," Mary Lyall said. "After they go to college, I hate to say it, but they think they know it all at that point, and they are vulnerable."

The Lyalls founded the Center for Hope, a nonprofit organization that assists families and friends in coping with the ambiguous disappearance of a loved one. They also lobbied for what became known as Suzanne's Law, federal legislation passed in 2003 that requires law enforcement agencies to notify the National Crime Information Center of missing people younger than 21; the cutoff had been 18.

....

Read more: http://www.deseretne...-questions.html

[Lori Davis]

Other unresolved missing person cases

1:26 PM, Oct 31, 2011 

Everyday people disappear. From teen runaways to those who don't want to be found to crime victims, according to one estimate, 2,300 people go missing each day in the U.S.

[Excerpt..]

Suzanne Lyall

Suzanne Lyall, left work at a New York shopping on March 2, 1998 and boarded a transit bus. She got off at a stop in Albany, New York and disappeared. She was 19.

Read more: http://www.news10.ne...ng-person-cases

[Lori Davis]

Community comes out in force to find Hannah Smith

Posted at: 01/08/2012 8:50 AM
By: Dan Bazile

EAST GREENBUSH – The community came together on Saturday to help in the search for a missing 16-year-old girl.

Friends, family and strangers gathered at a church on Third Avenue Extension to map out a plan before distributing posters around the area in hopes of locating Hannah Smith, who went missing on Jan. 1.

Her family also received some “welcome support” from a woman who has long walked in their shoes. Mary Lyall, the mother of Suzanne Lyall, came to the event to offer words of comfort while assisting in the search. Lyall’s daughter went missing in March of 1998.

Read more: http://wnyt.com/arti...0.shtml?cat=300

[Kelly]

http://wnyt.com/arti...bVroI4.facebook

Lyalls mark 11th annual Missing Persons Day

Posted at: 04/15/2012 12:11 AM | Updated at: 04/15/2012 9:31 AM
By: Dan Bazile

ALBANY -- Missing loved ones were remembered at a ceremony in Albany Saturday. The 11th Annual Missing Persons Day brought families together at the New York State Museum, including the parents of Suzanne Lyall, who disappeared in 1998.

Suzanne's disappearance remains unsolved. The Ballston Spa resident vanished without a trace from the University of Albany.

Suzanne's father, Doug Lyall, says the saying goes "time heals all." But, in this instance it doesn't apply, because he and his wife Mary still have no idea what happened to his daughter.

He and his wife try to keep positive, and assist other people who are in similar situations. That's one of the reasons why they put together the Missing Persons event every year for the past 11 years, to bring families together with missing loved ones, together.

Saturday's event comes in conjunction with the New York State Missing Persons Day that falls on April 6, Suzanne's birthday. Doug says it allows them to take some action, and to help others that have suffered the same tragedy.

At the event, families share their experiences in the morning, and then attend a candlelight vigil at the missing persons monument near the State Museum on Madison Avenue.

The key components this year; education and prevention. Ed Suk, the keynote speaker, and director for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's New York branch, says technology brings hope to the issue.

According to Suk, "Technology itself is an enormous benefit. With the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, we've seen our success rates skyrocket from 62 percent in the early '90s as a recovery rate to over 97 percent."

Sometimes hope is just getting answers, no matter what they may be, and live life the best way possible under the circumstances.

[Kelly]

http://www.timesunio...ect-4882034.php

Kidnapping charge in alleged attempted abduction of UAlbany students
Police look at man for 1985, 1998 UAlbany disappearances

By MATTHEW HAMILTON and ROBERT GAVIN
Updated 10:24 pm, Wednesday, October 9, 2013

ALBANY — Police are investigating whether the man charged with two attempted abductions at the University at Albany could have been involved in two long-unsolved missing persons cases.

Anthony D. Collins, 54, of Albany faces allegations he tried to abduct two women last week at a bus stop outside Waterbury Hall on Western Avenue at UAlbany's Alumni Quad. He was charged Wednesday with second-degree kidnapping and sent to Albany County jail without bail.

Police are looking into the possibility, however remote, that Collins could have been involved in the disappearances of UAlbany students Suzanne Lyall in 1998 and Karen Wilson in 1985. Lyall was 19 when last seen March 2, 1998, exiting a CDTA bus at Collins Circle at the UAlbany uptown campus; Wilson, 22, disappeared March 27, 1985; she was last seen on Central Avenue in Colonie.

Inspector Aran Mull, who commands the criminal investigations unit for UAlbany police, said police look into possible ties to the missing students any time an abduction-related cases arises.

"Even before we had identified him by name and been able to locate him, we considered that possibility," Mull said. "We always do whenever we have any case that echoes the disappearance of either Karen Wilson or Susan Lyall ... at this point in time, there's no nexus that's been established (to those cases) but it would be irresponsible of us not to look into that possibility," Mull said.

Police initially charged Collins with misdemeanor menacing and weapon possession.

Collins, who police said was dressed in a Christmas sweater and track pants at the time of the incidents, first allegedly tried to abduct a woman at knifepoint at 7:55 a.m. before another student intervened, allowing the woman to get on the bus and escape. An email sent to students Wednesday stated that the woman and the student who aided her "have helped make the community safer."

The woman came forward to say she is safe and speak with UAlbany Police, according to an email sent to students Wednesday afternoon.

At 8:30 a.m., police allege, Collins tried to abduct another woman, this time without the knife. She was able to flee.

[Kelly]

The Center for Hope would like to invite you to join them to commemorate New York State's 13th Annual Missing Persons Day.

 

When: Saturday, April 5th, 9am - 3:30pm

 

Location: New York State Museum and Cultural Education Center, 310 Madison Avenue, Albany, New York

 

What to Expect: Stimulating speakers, informational displays/exhibits, and an opportunity to join together with others affected by this unique loss. Despite the seriousness of the occasion, our goal is to provide an uplifting experience in a relaxed atmosphere.

 

The morning session is exclusively for family and friends affected by the unexplained or unresolved disappearance of a loved one including: still missing, missing with a safe return, and missing and recovered deceased. 

 

Pre-registration is required by email or phone for the morning session. Please leave your name and relationship to the missing person along with the names of others who will be attending with you.

 

The afternoon session is open to all including law enforcement, support organizations, and all who support missing person issues. 

 

Schedule:

9:00 Morning Registration (coffee and snacks provided)

12:00-12:45 Lunch Break

1:00 Afternoon Program

3:15 Closing Ceremonies at the Remembrance Monument, a short walk from the museum

 

Please RSVP by March 22nd at hope4themissing@yahoo.com or (518) 884-8761. Travel, lodging information, and details about the day will be available upon request. 

 

We look forward to hearing from you,

Doug and Mary Lyall

Co-Founders of the Center for Hope,

Parents of Missing Suzanne Lyall

Call

Send SMS

Add to Skype

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[Kelly]

http://www.saratogia...-unity-and-hope

13th annual NYS Missing persons Day; Sharing information, unity, and hope

By Molly Eadie
Posted: 04/05/14, 8:28 PM EDT

ALBANY >> About 200 people, many the family and friends of missing persons, gathered at the New York State Museum Saturday for a day of education, unity and hope during the 13th annual NYS Missing Persons Day.

“Those left behind are sometimes referred to as a club no one wants to belong to,” said Doug Lyall, who, with his wife, Mary, first proposed the creation of the day in 2001.

Milton residents Mary and Doug Lyall are the parents of Suzanne Lyall, who went missing from Collins Circle at the University at Albany on March 2, 1998, under suspicious circumstances. Suzanne was 19 at the time, and remains missing.

The Lyalls have been active in missing persons issues since then, establishing the Center for Hope, a non-profit organization that educates, assists and supports families and friends of missing persons. They have assisted in passing two federal laws, Suzanne’s Law in 2003, which heightened responses to missing young adults, and the Suzanne Lyall Campus Security Act in 2007, requiring U.S. colleges to develop written plans in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies.

“Most families want to know even if it’s not the answer they are looking for,” said Doug Lyall. “They want some sort of resolution.”

Doug Lyall said some families face difficulty filing a missing person report, and may be told by police to check back in a couple days.

“But time is the enemy here,” he said. “Our motto is assume the worst, if you’re law enforcement. Act on it.”

The family and friends of Amanda King, 29, had that problem five months ago when King went missing from Conifer Park Rehabilitation Center in October. Her best friend, Katie Burns, said Glenville Police Department didn’t look into the case immediately, as King was an adult and didn’t go missing under unusual circumstances.

Her father, Arthur King, said his daughter is known to come and go from his house, but previously never went more than a week without calling him. King was last seen by friends in Albany getting into a car.

“No matter what trouble she was in, she always called her father,” said Burns, who said a loved one’s intuition is what’s important. “People need to be willing to listen to that.”

Arthur King contacted the Albany Police Department, because King was last seen in Albany, and they knew Det. John Coleman had been working on the case for Ashley Caroll, a 24-year-old who went missing in 2010.

King says Coleman has had some tips, but no solid information.

“They’ve been helpful and compassionate,” said Burns. The family is offering a $2,000 reward.

King is 5 feet -3 inches tall and weighs about 110 pounds, with long, blonde hair and blue eyes.

Doug Lyall said one purpose of Missing Person’s Day is to help families with newly missing know where to look for resources and support. He said organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Team H.O.P.E., and National Missing and Unidentified Persons System can all be helpful to families and friends of missing children or adults.

The National Missing and Unidentified System, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, takes DNA samples from families of missing persons and compares them to unidentified persons in the database. Families can also enter information about missing persons on the website, namus.gov.

At the event Saturday, families could bring DNA samples to compare with unidentified deceased persons in the database.

Doug Lyall also said that being active in organizations and groups, and helping other people with missing loved ones, can help people feel like they are doing something and show them they are not alone.

“At least for today, there’s a sense of belonging,” he said. “Fighting the feeling of isolation is really important.”

[Lori Davis]

http://www.troyrecor...o-reignite-hope

 

VIDEO: Suzanne Lyall's parents use Missing Persons Day to reignite hope

 

By Andrew Beam

POSTED: 04/07/13, 4:13 PM EDT

 

ALBANY -- Doug and Mary Lyall know all too well how hard it can be to find the positive after a loved one goes missing; their daughter, Suzanne disappeared in 1998. That's why their goal for the Center for Hope's Missing Persons Day is to help people focus on what is good in their lives instead of wallowing in the bad.

 

The Lyalls were among those on hand for the 12th annual Missing Persons Day Saturday at the New York State Museum, where they gathered with others who had loved ones go missing, some of whom were found alive, some of whom were found deceased and some who have yet to be found.

 

"It's not [a] loss resolved through illness or an accident," Lyall said of those who have yet to find their loved ones. "It's unrelenting uncertainty."

 

The difficulty of not being able to go through the normal grieving process is something Lyall said can be difficult to overcome. Although it has only been four years since Mozell Jones-Grisham's son, Dominique Holley-Grisham went missing, she said that being with people who are experiencing a similar situation and going to events like Saturday's are a big help.

 

"Sharing tears, jokes, laughing and love really keeps me going," Jones-Grisham said. "Because Lord knows, I get down a lot."

Jones-Grisham, of Rochester, explained her son had just gotten home from a hockey game during which he was awarded the Most Valuable Player, so the family was getting ready to celebrate. As she went to go get food with his dad for the family, Holley-Grisham received a phone call on his cell phone and left the house.

 

It was the last time they saw him.

 

Holley-Grisham, who would be 20 today, was the second oldest of six boys in his family, Jones-Grisham said. She described him as a good kid who never got mixed up in the wrong crowds. She said he loved sports and did well in school.

 

"He was happy, energetic and always kept a smile on his face," Jones-Grisham said. "It's kind of hard to understand what happened."

 

Jones-Grisham said she received a lot of good information which would help her get through the hard times at the Missing Persons Day event. She explained that she would be able to live by two pieces of advice, picking something to do and focusing on it for 21 days or hearing encouraging words.

 

Jones-Grisham said she is part of a support group back in Rochester which does similar things such as the Center for Hope, so it wasn't hard to talk to many of the people at the event in Albany.

 

"I didn't feel like an outcast," Jones-Grisham said. "I didn't have to be shy."

 

It's a benefit that comes with the event, Lyall said, as many people are able to relate with others over a loved one gone missing. In recent years, the event has focused on not only trying to get attendees to stay positive but also really trying to generate some type of hope, Lyall said.

 

"It's the ability to be able to maintain or further develop hope," Lyall said. "It's having hope in believing things can change for the better. It tends to ebb and flow and you need to refuel and an event like this can help you refuel hope."

[Kelly]

http://wnyt.com/arti.../s3781841.shtml

Cold case: What happened to Suzanne Lyall?

Updated: 05/01/2015 2:24 PM
Created: 04/30/2015 7:33 AM WNYT.com
By: WNYT Staff

NewsChannel 13 is bringing you a special series on Capital Region cold cases.

Suzanne Lyall is a UAlbany student who vanished from campus without a trace 17 years ago.

Even though this case is nearly two decades old, the state police are currently taking new steps to solve, what they are confident, is a crime.

The lead investigator says this cold case is the one that still brings in the most frequent tips.

Suzanne Lyall's parents have been without her almost as long as she was in their lives.

“Most people want their family back no matter how,” affirmed Mary Lyall, Suzanne’s mom.

In March 1998, the 19-year-old college student left her part time job at Crossgates Mall, boarded a CDTA bus, got off at a stop on the UAlbany campus, and was never seen again.

“We have had so many people tell us their theory on it,” admitted Mary Lyall, as her husband, and Suzanne’s father, Doug, agreed.

Suzanne's picture, in New York State Police Investigator John Camp's office, is his daily reminder that the person, or persons, behind Suzanne’s disappearance is still out there.

Camp's career with the state police spans 30 years and he says Suzanne Lyall's case is the one that still generates more tips than anything else the veteran cop has ever been assigned. Camp believes continued public interest is the key to unlocking this mystery.

“I believe that some day we will find out who or what happened to Suzanne Lyall,” Camp declared.

That answer could come from a Stewart's at the corners of Manning Boulevard and Central Avenue in Albany. The day after Suzanne went missing, 18 hours later to be exact, someone withdrew 20 bucks from her account at the ATM there. There is no surveillance video and investigators say they exhausted any and all leads at the convenience store.

When Camp thinks about the possibility the entire case could hinge on that, he admitted, “It’s very frustrating.”

With every year that passes, concern grows that information will dry up. That's why New York State Police just enlisted the help of two, retired big-city criminal detectives from outside our area, to pore over all of Suzanne’s evidence. The hope is something -- anything really, will stand out to a fresh set of eyes.

State police investigators are also currently in the process of re-interviewing old witnesses. Minds, and even memories, can change and someone might now come forward with information that in the past -- for whatever reason, they didn't share in 1998.

“We basically just continue to work the case and hope we will get that one piece of information that will solve this case for us,” explained Camp.

Investigator Camp isn't the only one who refuses to give up. Not knowing what happened to their daughter is still the hardest, understandably, on the Lyalls.

We've done everything,” said Mary Lyall. “I know there is more to do and I am going to continue.”

“Their whole life changed in 1998 when Suzy went missing, and if I can do anything to help them find out what happened to their daughter, Suzanne, that is what keeps me going every day,” declared Camp.

Because today, tomorrow or even next week or next year, that one phone call, that one interview or that one advance in police technology could be the one clue that investigators and Suzanne’s parents, have been waiting for 17 years.

“It can't be a homicide until you find a body,” noted Mary Lyall.

If you have any information about Suzanne Lyall's disappearance, state police at Troop G want to hear from you. The phone number is 518-783-3211.

Also, due to retirements and new jobs, there will soon only be one of the original investigators assigned to the Lyall case still working on it.

[Lori Davis]

http://yourcliftonpa...-in-cold-cases/

 

Custom coasters are designed to provide new hope in cold cases

BY Molly Congdon
Gazette Reporter
May 29, 2015

 

CLIFTON PARK — When someone goes missing, there is initially a great deal of attention surrounding the case and the effort to find the lost person.

 

Sadly though, with the passage of time, the case drifts out of the public eye, and signs for optimism dwindle until the family of the missing person is left alone with their sadness.

 

Some are afraid to find out what happened, but for Doug and Mary Lyall of Ballston Spa, not knowing is the worst-case scenario.

 

On Monday, March 2, 1998, their daughter Suzanne — a 19-year-old sophomore at the University at Albany — vanished without a trace after exiting a CDTA bus at Collins Circle in Albany. To this day, she is listed as a missing person.

 

In 2001, the Lyalls established The Center for Hope Inc., a nonprofit organization with a mission to aid other families coping with the sadness of the loss of a loved one.

 

They teamed with Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and DeCrescente Distributing Co. to launch a new round of Coasters for Hope.

 

More than 25,000 Coasters for Hope — drink coasters printed with pictures and information about eight local missing or murdered persons — will be printed and distributed by DeCrescente to restaurants and taverns across the Capital Region in this initial order.

 

In 2013-14, more than 50,000 coasters were distributed in the program’s debut, featuring a different set of missing people, Suzanne Lyall and six others.

 

 

“We are very proud to sponsor the second Coasters for Hope Program; these coasters provide a visible resource to raise awareness in our communities about missing people,” said C.J. DeCrescente, president of DeCrescente Distributing. “By distributing these coasters at our local retailers, our hope is to help ease the pain and uncertainty for families dealing with the disappearance of a loved one. Just one tip could possibly help solve a missing person’s case.”

 

Each coaster has a number where people can anonymously call or text a tip to law enforcement about a missing person’s case.

 

The coasters will be distributed by DeCrescente to Capital Region restaurants and taverns featuring information about the following Capital Region missing people:

 

-Agnes “Ginger” Shoe, age 37, last seen in Glenville in 1979.
-Christina White, age 19, an unsolved 2005 homicide in Milton.
-Erica Franolich, age 26, last seen in Middleburgh in 1986.
-Robert Gutkaiss, age 15, an unsolved 1983 homicide in Stephentown.
-Audrey May Herron, age 31, missing from Catskill since 2002.
-Amanda King, age 27, missing from Glenville since 2013.
-Kathleen Kolodziej, age 17, an unsolved homicide in Cobleskill from 1974.
-Robert Sanfelice, age 33, missing from Albany since 1984.

 

Jogging the memory

 

The plan was announced May 21 at a news conference at Ravenswood restaurant and tavern, 1021 Route 146, Clifton Park.

 

“It just takes one little remembrance or reminder from one of these coasters that can help jog somebody’s memory and maybe make the difference in the lives of that person or their family members,” Tedisco said.

 

The public-private partnership to create and distribute drink coasters to help find missing people is the first of its kind in the Northeast. “I think this is another great example of the private sector stepping up to help the community,” Clifton Park Town Supervisor Phil Barrett said.

 

Looking at the Lyalls, he said: “No words can ever express what you’ve gone through and continue to go through, but I hope that the support shown in this community and many across New York state provides some comfort to you and again I just want to thank everyone for being a part of this.”

 

The key to success is to continue to be innovative and to keep the information revolving around those who are missing in the public eye. “ ‘Coasters for Hope’ is a huge investigative tool for us,” Sheriff Michael Zurlo said. “The coasters will be out in all area restaurants and everything is kept anonymous. This is will help local law enforcement.”

 

Tedisco has been a longtime advocate on issues related to missing children.

 

“To not know the fate of a loved one who has gone missing can lead families to a quiet desperation of anger, frustration and deep sadness,” he said. “However improbable it might seem, one tip could help law enforcement solve a missing-persons cold case and no matter how improbable it might seem, perhaps even help a missing person come home. If someone sees one of these Coasters for Hope at their neighborhood restaurant or tavern then they may know something that could lead to a major break in a missing persons case.”

 

When the active investigation turns into a cold case, it’s heartbreaking.

 

“We are just two parents who lost their daughter 17 years ago and we are hoping that our coasters, our programs will help other families,” Mary Lyall said. “All these people are children of somebody; they all have families and these families are desperately searching for them.”

 

She continued: “They all need answers. Everybody is searching for an answer.”

[Kelly]

http://www.timesunio...ent-6469179.php

Douglas Lyall, father of missing UAlbany student Suzanne Lyall, dies

Updated 2:02 pm, Thursday, August 27, 2015

BALLSTON SPA - Douglas Lyall, who for more than 15 years kept a constant vigil for his missing daughter Suzanne, has died.

Lyall who died Tuesday never got to see anyone brought to justice for the 1998 disappearance of his daughter, a University at Albany student who was last seen at Crossgates Mall.

In the time since she vanished, Lyall and his wife Mary kept their daughter's memory alive in local news reports and by tackling the issue of missing people.

On Wednesday, Lyall's Facebook page was filling with sentiments from people who knew him.

"Doug was a man among men," one person wrote.

"A kind and gentle man, he will be missed by many. Be with the angels and you now hold the answer to what happened to Suzanne. Together in heaven," another person wrote.

Assemblyman James Tedisco worked on several initiatives with the Lyalls.

"When their daughter, Suzanne Lyall went missing in 1998, Doug and his wife Mary, turned their sadness and quiet desperation into a positive force for change with the creation of the Center for Hope to help other families find missing loved ones and advocate for state and federal legislation and initiatives to better respond to missing person cases," he said in a statement released by his office.

[Kelly]

http://blog.timesuni...nity-hero/1754/

Remembering Doug Lyall, a true community hero

Posted on August 27, 2015 | By Jim Tedisco

I’m very saddened to learn of the passing of Ballston Spa resident and my friend Doug Lyall, who I have had the true honor and privilege of representing and working very closely with over the years on issues related to finding missing persons. When their daughter, Suzanne Lyall went missing in 1998, Doug and his wife Mary, turned their sadness and quiet desperation into a positive force for change with the creation of the Center for Hope to help other families find missing loved ones and advocate for state and federal legislation and initiatives to better respond to missing person cases.



In 1999, Doug and Mary helped get ‘Suzanne’s Law Campus Safety Act’ passed in New York to require all colleges in the state to have plans that provide for the investigation of missing students and violent felony offenses committed on campus. Doug’s impassioned advocacy on behalf of his daughter and all families of missing persons later got ‘Suzanne’s Law’ passed on the federal level to require that police notify the National Crime Information Center when someone between the ages of 18 and 21 is reported missing, as part of the national Amber Alert bill.


Thanks to Doug and Mary, New York became the first state in the nation to create a Missing Persons Remembrance Monument located next to the state museum and we have held an annual Missing Persons Day that brings together family members of missing persons to share ways of coping and to keep hope alive.


More recently, Doug reached out to me with the idea of putting the pictures of missing persons on drink coasters with the hope this will generate tips that could solve a cold case. This led to the creation of the Coasters for Hope program that has distributed 75,000 drink coasters with pictures and info on missing persons to restaurants and taverns across the Capital Region.


Doug Lyall was a community hero and truly a wonderful person who turned his personal tragedy into a mission to ensure that what happened to his family is never experienced by someone else’s family. My deepest sympathies go out to his beloved wife, Mary, who has always been by his side, and to their children, grandchildren and entire family. May Doug Lyall Rest in Peace.

[Kelly]

The world lost a wonderful man yesterday. He was like a brother to me. Doug Lyall passed away, leaving behind his wife Mary, the organization they founded, Center for Hope, and their children. Their daughter Suzanne, disappeared many years ago, and in their painful aftermath, not only did they start their organization, but they passed federal laws that make things better for families of the missing.

 

They are the leaders when it comes to information and assistance in cases of college-age missing persons. They initiated the playing card system in NY state, placing photos of missing persons on playing cards given to prison inmates. They created a beautiful memorial for missing persons in NY, among many other accomplishments, including hosting an annual missing persons day for families in the region.

 

I will always remember Doug. He had a calming presence, and while he paused to speak, all that he said had great value. Doug and Mary were among the first family members of a missing person I met after Jason disappeared. They took me under their wing, taught me, and encouraged me. Doug showed me how you not only listen, but you hear, and was a fantastic role model to me when I was new to the cause, and in later years. I never failed to learn something from him.

 

I'll miss you, Doug. I love you, Doug, May you rest in peace, having answers now about Suzanne, and having left a solid mark on the world, a legacy of love and hope.

[Kelly]

http://www.timesunio...ent-6469179.php

Family, friends recall father of missing UAlbany student Suzanne Lyall

By Robert Gavin Updated 6:33 pm, Thursday, August 27, 2015

BALLSTON SPA — Doug and Mary Lyall met as seventh-graders in Pittsfield.

They graduated high school together, started dating, got married and settled in Ballston Spa in Saratoga County, where both had roots. There, they raised three children.

On March 2, 1998, their youngest child, Suzanne, 19, was attending the University at Albany when she left a CDTA bus at Collins Circle at the uptown campus. She has never been seen again.

On Tuesday, Doug Lyall, 73, who along with his wife kept a never-ending vigil for Suzanne became a voice for missing persons in the Capital Region and beyond, died following a debilitating illness that had been afflicted him since last winter.

"He was a very kind and caring person and helped a lot of people," Mary Lyall said of her husband of 50 years. "Anytime somebody asked him to do something he was always there to help. He was that kind of a guy."

Still numb from the loss of her husband, Mary Lyall hoped it could bring new information about Suzanne's case.

Doug and Mary Lyall kept their marriage intact despite the excruciating anguish of losing a child and not knowing what happened to her.

"It was hard. We both had separate ideas of what happened to Suzy," Mary Lyall said. "He was the (family) spokesperson and that's basically what we tell the families (of missing persons) that call us. You really have to appoint somebody to be a spokesperson. You can't try and do it (otherwise)."


Family, friends recall father of missing UAlbany student Suzanne Lyall

By Robert Gavin Updated 6:33 pm, Thursday, August 27, 2015

1

Doug and Mary Lyall of the Center for Hope launch a new round of 8 Coasters for Hope to help find Capital Region missing persons and find answers to several unsolved homicides during a news conference Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) Photo: John Carl D'Annibale / 00031932A

Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
Image 1 of 12

Doug and Mary Lyall of the Center for Hope launch a new round of 8 Coasters for Hope to help find Capital Region missing persons and find answers to several unsolved homicides during a news conference Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)
Buy this photo
Image 1 of 12

Doug and Mary Lyall of the Center for Hope launch a new round of 8 Coasters for Hope to help find Capital Region missing persons and find answers to several unsolved homicides during a news conference Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)
Buy this photo

BALLSTON SPA — Doug and Mary Lyall met as seventh-graders in Pittsfield.

They graduated high school together, started dating, got married and settled in Ballston Spa in Saratoga County, where both had roots. There, they raised three children.

On March 2, 1998, their youngest child, Suzanne, 19, was attending the University at Albany when she left a CDTA bus at Collins Circle at the uptown campus. She has never been seen again.

On Tuesday, Doug Lyall, 73, who along with his wife kept a never-ending vigil for Suzanne became a voice for missing persons in the Capital Region and beyond, died following a debilitating illness that had been afflicted him since last winter.

"He was a very kind and caring person and helped a lot of people," Mary Lyall said of her husband of 50 years. "Anytime somebody asked him to do something he was always there to help. He was that kind of a guy."

Still numb from the loss of her husband, Mary Lyall hoped it could bring new information about Suzanne's case.

Doug and Sandy Lyall kept their marriage intact despite the excruciating anguish of losing a child and not knowing what happened to her.

"It was hard. We both had separate ideas of what happened to Suzy," Mary Lyall said. "He was the (family) spokesperson and that's basically what we tell the families (of missing persons) that call us. You really have to appoint somebody to be a spokesperson. You can't try and do it (otherwise)."

Nearly one year after their daughter vanished, Doug Lyall wrote a letter "To the person who took Suzanne," offering kind words in the hope she could be found.

"I'm not sure what I would say, although after so much time, surprisingly, I don't hate you. I know nothing about you," Doug Lyall wrote. "I wonder if you were ever like Suzy. Did you love homemade chocolate chip cookies? Did you go to Rush concerts? Did you play jokes on April Fools day? Did you spend time on the computer, oblivious to anything else going on around you? Suzy is more than a girl on a poster. Her mom and dad, Steve and Sandy miss her daily. She has dreams, and hopes and potential. I still have positive dreams. For my own survival, I have had to let go of anger or I would be consumed by it. But the questions persist."

Mary Lyall said she and her husband began their activism some five years after Suzanne disappeared. It was after they attended a conference, where a woman who had a missing family member stood up and spoke, leaving a lasting impression.

"I went up to her afterward and she said, 'Ya know, I could have laid in bed with a cover over my head for years but I decided to really get out there and talk about this. Otherwise I couldn't do it,'" Mary Lyall recalled. "I think that was about when we both decided that we really decided needed to do something for other people. It helped both of us."

She said she began speaking publicly in 2003 when President George Bush signed "Suzanne's Law," requiring police to notify the National Crime Information Center When someone between 18 and 21 is reported missing. Police previously had been only required to report missing persons under the age of 18. The Lyalls successfully battled for legislation and started a Center for Hope for families facing similar grief.

"When their daughter, Suzanne Lyall went missing in 1998, Doug and his wife Mary, turned their sadness and quiet desperation into a positive force for change with the creation of the Center for Hope to help other families find missing loved ones and advocate for state and federal legislation and initiatives to better respond to missing person cases," stated Assemblyman James Tedisco, whose office worked on several initiatives with the Lyalls.


Family, friends recall father of missing UAlbany student Suzanne Lyall

By Robert Gavin Updated 6:33 pm, Thursday, August 27, 2015

1

Doug and Mary Lyall of the Center for Hope launch a new round of 8 Coasters for Hope to help find Capital Region missing persons and find answers to several unsolved homicides during a news conference Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) Photo: John Carl D'Annibale / 00031932A

Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
Image 1 of 12

Doug and Mary Lyall of the Center for Hope launch a new round of 8 Coasters for Hope to help find Capital Region missing persons and find answers to several unsolved homicides during a news conference Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)
Buy this photo
Image 1 of 12

Doug and Mary Lyall of the Center for Hope launch a new round of 8 Coasters for Hope to help find Capital Region missing persons and find answers to several unsolved homicides during a news conference Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)
Buy this photo

BALLSTON SPA — Doug and Mary Lyall met as seventh-graders in Pittsfield.

They graduated high school together, started dating, got married and settled in Ballston Spa in Saratoga County, where both had roots. There, they raised three children.

On March 2, 1998, their youngest child, Suzanne, 19, was attending the University at Albany when she left a CDTA bus at Collins Circle at the uptown campus. She has never been seen again.

On Tuesday, Doug Lyall, 73, who along with his wife kept a never-ending vigil for Suzanne became a voice for missing persons in the Capital Region and beyond, died following a debilitating illness that had been afflicted him since last winter.

"He was a very kind and caring person and helped a lot of people," Mary Lyall said of her husband of 50 years. "Anytime somebody asked him to do something he was always there to help. He was that kind of a guy."

Still numb from the loss of her husband, Mary Lyall hoped it could bring new information about Suzanne's case.

Doug and Sandy Lyall kept their marriage intact despite the excruciating anguish of losing a child and not knowing what happened to her.

"It was hard. We both had separate ideas of what happened to Suzy," Mary Lyall said. "He was the (family) spokesperson and that's basically what we tell the families (of missing persons) that call us. You really have to appoint somebody to be a spokesperson. You can't try and do it (otherwise)."

Nearly one year after their daughter vanished, Doug Lyall wrote a letter "To the person who took Suzanne," offering kind words in the hope she could be found.

"I'm not sure what I would say, although after so much time, surprisingly, I don't hate you. I know nothing about you," Doug Lyall wrote. "I wonder if you were ever like Suzy. Did you love homemade chocolate chip cookies? Did you go to Rush concerts? Did you play jokes on April Fools day? Did you spend time on the computer, oblivious to anything else going on around you? Suzy is more than a girl on a poster. Her mom and dad, Steve and Sandy miss her daily. She has dreams, and hopes and potential. I still have positive dreams. For my own survival, I have had to let go of anger or I would be consumed by it. But the questions persist."

Mary Lyall said she and her husband began their activism some five years after Suzanne disappeared. It was after they attended a conference, where a woman who had a missing family member stood up and spoke, leaving a lasting impression.

"I went up to her afterward and she said, 'Ya know, I could have laid in bed with a cover over my head for years but I decided to really get out there and talk about this. Otherwise I couldn't do it,'" Mary Lyall recalled. "I think that was about when we both decided that we really decided needed to do something for other people. It helped both of us."

She said she began speaking publicly in 2003 when President George Bush signed "Suzanne's Law," requiring police to notify the National Crime Information Center When someone between 18 and 21 is reported missing. Police previously had been only required to report missing persons under the age of 18. The Lyalls successfully battled for legislation and started a Center for Hope for families facing similar grief.

"When their daughter, Suzanne Lyall went missing in 1998, Doug and his wife Mary, turned their sadness and quiet desperation into a positive force for change with the creation of the Center for Hope to help other families find missing loved ones and advocate for state and federal legislation and initiatives to better respond to missing person cases," stated Assemblyman James Tedisco, whose office worked on several initiatives with the Lyalls.

Doug Lyall was born in Colorado, but his family moved to Ballston Lake when Doug was 9, then to Massachusetts, where he met his future wife in Pittsfield schools. They graduated from high school together in 1960; they began dating the day after graduation. The couple married after Doug obtained his bachelor's degree in Springfield College, where he got a masters as well. He was rehabilitation counselor who worked with the physically and mentally handicapped; his last job was at Capital District Psychiatric Center.

Mary Lyall said she and her husband rarely disagreed despite differences.

"We both had separate ideas about life — I like to do lots of artsy things and he was into sports," she said, noting her spouse, an athlete who ran track in school, played tennis and a similar game, pickleball.

She praised him as a father.

"One night when Suzy was an infant, I came home and he was holding her up," Mary Lyall said. "She was, I think, less than a month old, and he was holding her and looking at her and I said, 'What are you doing?' And he said, 'We're having a conversation.' ... he was just always there for them."

Steve Lyall, the oldest of the three Lyall children (the middle child is daughter Sandy), who lives in New Jersey, said his father was also a close friend.

"We always did things together all the time. We'd go to car shows and play golf and go for walks," Steven Lyall said. "He was always there to talk to me about my problems, always there to help me with projects around my house. He would take time to come to down to New Jersey try and help me with things if I needed help, try to show me how to fix things, go to baseball games at Yankee Stadium sometimes. Just everything ... I told him just before he left the other day that he'll always be with me in spirit."

Friends and supporters of the Lyalls left an outpouring of grief on social media following the word of Doug Lyall's passing, offering prayers, condolences and memories.

"A kind and gentle man, he will be missed by many," wrote one person. Be with the angels and you now hold the answer to what happened to Suzanne. Together in heaven."

[Kelly]

http://www.burkefune...obit_id=1647879

J. Douglas Lyall

January 23, 1942 - August 26, 2015


Saratoga Springs - John Douglas Lyall, 73, passed away on August 26, 2015 at Saratoga Hospital. He was born on January 23, 1942, in Palisade, CO, to the late Wilfred Alexander and Lucie (Wainwright) Lyall.

Doug grew up in Pittsfield, MA, and graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1960. After high school he attended Springfield College (MA) where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1964 and a master’s degree in education in 1965. In 1964 Doug married Mary Gloria and they spent the next 50 years together. After graduation Doug entered the workforce and spent time working for Mass Vocational Rehab at NYS Vocational Rehab, Wilton Developmental Center, and Capital District Psych Center until he retired in 1996.
After retirement Doug kept active with many activities including volunteer work at the Wesley Community, gardening, traveling, and kept fit by playing pickleball.

In 1998 after Doug and Mary’s daughter Suzanne tragically disappeared, they together founded the Center for Hope and had many accomplishments on behalf of missing people including; the development of 'Suzannes' Law,' a federal law that increases protection for missing young adults (18 to 20) was signed by President Bush in April, 2003; 'The New York State Campus Security Act' which requires New York State colleges to develop plans for prompt investigations of missing students and violent offenses committed on campus. This was signed into law January, 2000, and in August, 2008 it became a federal law, named ‘The Suzanne Lyall Campus Security Act.' Doug also annually facilitated the NYS Missing Persons Day ceremony each April, developed cold case coasters which are currently distributed in pubs and restaurants with hope that they can provide information and tips that will lead to crimes being solved, he worked with DCJS to develop a young adult ID booklet, 'Just the Facts, Just in Case' and 'The Investigative Guide for Missing College Students.' In addition to the above efforts, Doug proposed and consulted with the design of the “New York State Missing Persons Remembrance” monument in Albany, NY, which was dedicated in 2006, he produced a guide for families 'What to Do If A Loved One Goes Missing,' and developed a Cold Case Playing Card program that was distributed to prisoners in the 57 county jails in NYS with hope that they can provide information and tips that will lead to crimes being solved.

Doug was a person who was loved and respected by many, always willing to help anyone in need and put everyone’s needs above his own. He was a wonderful husband, father, and friend.

In addition to his parents, Doug is predeceased by his brothers William and David Lyall.

Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Mary of Ballston Spa, his son Steven Lyall and his wife Deborah Johnson of Dumont, NJ, his daughter Sandra Lyall of East Longmeadow, MA, granddaughter Heather Morton of East Longmeadow, MA. His daughter Suzanne has been a missing person since 1998.

Relatives and friends may call from 2:00pm to 5:00pm on Monday, August 31, 2015 at the William J. Burke & Sons/Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Homes, 628 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs (584-5373). A funeral service will immediately follow at the funeral home. A gathering for family and friends will be held following the service at the Factory restaurant in Ballston Spa, NY.

Burial will be private.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made to The Center for Hope, 20 Prospect Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020.

[Deborah]

Suzanne is still missing.

 

http://www.criminalj...lege-student/91

[Kelly]

Save the Date: Saturday, April 9 for the New York State 15th Annual Missing Person’s Day


On behalf of Mary Lyall, I’m writing to ask that you mark your calendars for Saturday, April 9, 2016, for Honor-Hope-Heal, the 15th Annual New York State Missing Persons Day event at the New York State Museum.

For the first time, the New York State Missing Persons Clearinghouse is co-sponsoring the event with the Center for Hope. The Clearinghouse, located at the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, provides training and support to law enforcement agencies and assistance to family members and loved ones of those who have gone missing.

You will receive the agenda for the event, along with information about lodging, by the end of February. In the interim, I wanted to share the date and some details of the event in advance, as I know many of you have calendars that fill up fast.

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Private event for families and loved ones, as well as representatives from organizations that support them, including law enforcement agencies.

1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Public ceremony, featuring keynote speaker Dr. Christina Hibbert.

Dr. Hibbert, a clinical psychologist and author, also will be available to meet with families and friends during the morning portion of the program; visit www.drchristinahibbert.com to learn more about her. In addition to remarks by Dr. Hibbard, the afternoon program will include a remembrance of Mary’s husband, Doug, who left us too soon this past summer. As many of you know, Doug and Mary together were the driving force behind establishing the Center for Hope and tireless advocates for the families of missing persons.

If you wish, you can click here to register in advance. If you have trouble accessing that link, copy and paste this address into your browser: http://bit.ly/1nAm7Nk

Thank you for your past support of the Center for Hope and Missing Persons Day. Mary and I hope you will be able to join us for this day of remembrance.

 

Cindy Neff

Program Manager

 

New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services

Missing Persons Clearinghouse