Posted on August 30, 2013
State Representative David Labriola (R-131) emceed the annual “Night of Hope,” the official Connecticut Missing Persons Day, will be held on the Naugatuck Town Green on Sunday, August 25, 2013.
A Night of Hope is held each year in honor of William “Billy” Smolinski who went missing from Waterbury on August 24, 2004.
The event featured speakers to bring awareness to the silent crisis of missing persons across our state.
Speakers included Billy’s mother Janice Smolinski, Bill Smolinski Sr. and Paula Smolinski Bell, Billy’s sister, Sgt. James Thomas of the Connecticut State Police Missing Persons Unit, Connecticut Victims’ Advocate Garvin Ambrose, Cathy Kohut of Resources in Search and Rescue, and private investigators Mike Ward and Gil Alba.
“Janice Smolinski has been steadfast in her commitment to finding all missing persons and I’m honored to be a part of the annual Night of Hope,” Rep. Labriola said. “Hopefully with events like this we can raise awareness of the missing person crisis and help reunite families.
There was also a butterfly release by Paula (Billy’s sister) with his niece and nephew Tori and Brad Bell, LostNMissing, a non-profit organization set up a table to provide information to the public and families regarding the missing.
Immaculate Conception Ladies Guild member Joy Brown presented a few specially crocheted prayer blankets from the guild.
Mrs. Smolinski is also the impetus behind a federal version of “Billy’s Law” which would link two existing databases maintained by the Department of Justice: the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the Department of Justice’s National Missing Person and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and would create a grant program to help local law enforcement and medical examiners report missing persons and unidentified remains to NCIC, NamUs, and the National DNA Index System (NDIS).
