Missing Persons Day 2020
Saturday 09 February 2019 - 19:09:45
Missing Persons Day 2020 Postponed
The staff of the Center for Hope would like to be cautious and sensitive to the current COVID-19 situation and is postponing the April 18th Missing Persons Day. Our proposed alternate date will be later in 2020 pending updates regarding COVID-19 as our community continues to respond to the outbreak. Once the new date is confirmed, an announcement will be distributed.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
Please contact hope4themissing@yahoo.com for questions or concerns about this change of date.
Thank you for your understanding
Sincerely,
Mary Lyall
The staff of the Center for Hope would like to be cautious and sensitive to the current COVID-19 situation and is postponing the April 18th Missing Persons Day. Our proposed alternate date will be later in 2020 pending updates regarding COVID-19 as our community continues to respond to the outbreak. Once the new date is confirmed, an announcement will be distributed.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
Please contact hope4themissing@yahoo.com for questions or concerns about this change of date.
Thank you for your understanding
Sincerely,
Mary Lyall
Missing Persons Day Ceremony2018
Sunday 08 April 2018 - 09:45:41
Families from across state gather to honor the missing in Albany
Organizer Mary Lyall presented with state Senate's highest award
By Emily Masters
Updated 2:40 pm, Saturday, April 7, 2018
Mary Lyall, mother of Suzanne Lyall, speaks during Missing Person's Day on Saturday, April 9, 2011, at the New York State Museum in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union archive)
ALBANY — Families of people who have vanished across New York gathered at the state Museum Saturday to mark the 17th annual Missing Persons Day.
State Sen. Jim Tedisco presented Mary Lyall — the mother of Suzanne Lyall, who disappeared from the University at Albany 20 years ago — with the state Senate Liberty Medal for her work supporting the families of other missing people.
Suzanne's disappearance — which is being investigated as a homicide and has never been solved — propelled Mary Lyall and her late husband, Doug, into the national spotlight as they turned tragedy into advocacy. Their daughter would have turned 40 this week.
The couple established the Center for Hope in Ballston Spa some five years after Suzanne disappeared. In the years since, they have ushered several proposals into state and federal law, all while answering the panicked, daily phone calls of families across the country who are going through what they did 20 years ago.
Mary Lyall is frank when she talks about missing people, not hesitating to admit some people purposefully disappear. Others like her daughter, however, did not choose to vanish — and could have been better protected.
To that end, the Lyalls became experts in finding missing people.
They consulted with New York officials to create "The Investigative Guide for Missing College Students" and collaborated with law enforcement to pen "What to Do If a Loved One Goes Missing: A Guide for Left Behind Family Members."
In 2000, Gov. George Pataki signed the New York State Campus Security Act, which requires all colleges to develop plans for investigating a missing student or violent offense committed on campus.
In 2003, President George W. Bush signed "Suzanne's Law," which eliminated the waiting period for law enforcement to launch an investigation when a person between the ages of 18 and 21 goes missing.
In 2007, Congress enacted the Suzanne Lyall Campus Security Act, which requires colleges across the country to have written plans on how they will work with local law enforcement agencies.
The Center for Hope also helped create state Missing Persons Day, its annual April ceremony, and the state Missing Persons Remembrance monument in Albany.
The non-profit has distributed more than 55,000 cold case drink coasters to Capital Region restaurants and roughly 30,000 decks of cold case playing cards to all 57 county jails in New York.
Organizer Mary Lyall presented with state Senate's highest award
By Emily Masters
Updated 2:40 pm, Saturday, April 7, 2018
Mary Lyall, mother of Suzanne Lyall, speaks during Missing Person's Day on Saturday, April 9, 2011, at the New York State Museum in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union archive)
ALBANY — Families of people who have vanished across New York gathered at the state Museum Saturday to mark the 17th annual Missing Persons Day.
State Sen. Jim Tedisco presented Mary Lyall — the mother of Suzanne Lyall, who disappeared from the University at Albany 20 years ago — with the state Senate Liberty Medal for her work supporting the families of other missing people.
Suzanne's disappearance — which is being investigated as a homicide and has never been solved — propelled Mary Lyall and her late husband, Doug, into the national spotlight as they turned tragedy into advocacy. Their daughter would have turned 40 this week.
The couple established the Center for Hope in Ballston Spa some five years after Suzanne disappeared. In the years since, they have ushered several proposals into state and federal law, all while answering the panicked, daily phone calls of families across the country who are going through what they did 20 years ago.
Mary Lyall is frank when she talks about missing people, not hesitating to admit some people purposefully disappear. Others like her daughter, however, did not choose to vanish — and could have been better protected.
To that end, the Lyalls became experts in finding missing people.
They consulted with New York officials to create "The Investigative Guide for Missing College Students" and collaborated with law enforcement to pen "What to Do If a Loved One Goes Missing: A Guide for Left Behind Family Members."
In 2000, Gov. George Pataki signed the New York State Campus Security Act, which requires all colleges to develop plans for investigating a missing student or violent offense committed on campus.
In 2003, President George W. Bush signed "Suzanne's Law," which eliminated the waiting period for law enforcement to launch an investigation when a person between the ages of 18 and 21 goes missing.
In 2007, Congress enacted the Suzanne Lyall Campus Security Act, which requires colleges across the country to have written plans on how they will work with local law enforcement agencies.
The Center for Hope also helped create state Missing Persons Day, its annual April ceremony, and the state Missing Persons Remembrance monument in Albany.
The non-profit has distributed more than 55,000 cold case drink coasters to Capital Region restaurants and roughly 30,000 decks of cold case playing cards to all 57 county jails in New York.