Ruth Sharon Hoffman

Ruth, (my Mother, Ruth Sharon Hoffman) was a wonderful woman, who got dealt a bad hand early off in life.

She took that bad hand and turned it into a royal flush. Her mom had 11 children and had to put most of them into foster care..

My mom was one of the first ones to get out of foster care and get a job. Then she met my dad and they instantly fell in love. They were married within two months. Then, they worked together getting her siblings out of foster care..

They took them (her siblings) one by one until they could find a job and an apartment. My mom has done so much good in her life..

Everyone loved her and she loved everyone. She was always helping someone, even people she did not know. This woman had a voice like an angel, and even taught herself how to play the piano..




This is only the beginning of the story written by a daughter who has been searching for her mother over 20 years. The questions are never answered and the hurt continues.

This case is probably the poster case for change in the way law enforcement handles missing adult cases.

When Ruth came home the night of June 29, 1986, battered and raped, she took a bath, changed clothes and told her daughter, Debbie, she was going for a walk. She was naturally upset by what happened to her and vowed not to let "them" get away with what they had done to her. That was the last time anyone has seen Ruth Sharon Hoffman.

Debbie did it all right, she reported her mother missing, only to be told to wait a week and come back. She followed the direction given to her by law enforcement to a tee. She called and called to learn of the progress in the case, until they told her to stop bugging them. She took it in stride and believed they were working on the investigation.

Debbie plastered her missing mother all over the internet. Message boards, blogs, Myspace pages, anywhere and everywhere she talked about her missing mother. She hired private detectives to help move the case along.

October, 2004....Debbie and her husband asked to see the file on Ruth Sharon Hoffman's investigation. There was no case file, there was no missing person's report, there was no listing in data bases. In 2005 she formally filed another missing person's report only to find the detective had been removed from the case and told to find a cold case detective.

This story is the story of everything gone wrong. Debbie has suffered not only in loosing her mother, but physically as well. She vowed to never stop looking and to bring this case to justice. She has suffered more setbacks than should be allowed in her quest, yet she, and now her daughter Tasha continue to keep the search alive.

The procedures and legislation for missing adults has to change and be enforced. Yes, those who are family members of the missing have to take on part of the responsibility of this, but ultimately it falls to our law enforcement agencies to follow the procedures correctly. Time is of the essence when someone goes missing and now it has been almost 22 years for Ruth Sharon Hoffman. She may be out there somewhere, but it's getting late.