State Holds First Ever Missing Person’s Day
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New hope tonight for Alabama families with missing loved ones — a new partnership involving the state attorney general’s office aims to equip families and law enforcement with the tools needed to increase the chance of finding our missing. Alabama News Network has followed the story of one local family who’s pushed for action who say they’ve been waiting for this day for a very long time… After 11 years, Pam Riley says today is hopefully the start of a movement for missing people in Alabama… “[We} worked real hard for today. And hopefully this won’t be the end of it,” Said Riley. She and her family have been looking for 19 year old LaQuanta Riley, who’s been missing since December 7, 2003. Since then, Riley has pushed for the state to get involved in getting answers to what happened to her daughter and the 169 families with missing loved-ones in Alabama. She’s partnering with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office for the state’s first ever Missing Person’s Day. “I planned it for so long and rehearsed what I’d say and what I’d do and none of it happened,” Said Riley in emotion. “And just to see her here today, my family here today all of us on one accord… with one thing in mind: bringing our loved ones home… it’s kind of hard to put into words.” Families were encouraged to bring photos of their loved ones. They also brought other family members so law enforcement officials could re-swab DNA. But it wasn’t just families who got help. Law enforcement officers received some much needed training. Some say it’s been needed for a long time. “With the advancement of technology and the information and, of course, this helps us with education… knowing more about missing person cases and how they can help being solved, the more we know, the more we can help other families. As for the questions and confusion Riley told us in a previous interview we did with her several weeks ago, now having a roundtable with law enforcement and other missing person’s families is more than she could ever hope for. “It’s just a cherry on hope… because we’ve never lost hope,” Said Riley. Another Missing Persons day in Oklahoma last year cleared 9 missing people. State officials hope getting DNA will bring these families one step closer to getting answers. Coming up on Alabama News Network at 10, we’ll have more reaction from the Riley family on what they learned during today’s training.
