Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK): Why No Support for the Missing?

As a former resident of the great state of Oklahoma, I'm more than surprised that Senator Coburn is showing resistance for The Help Find The Missing Act (Billy's Law) S3019.   Although all Americans are suffering through a bad economy, and I can understand  budget and funding concerns as  mentioned in Senator Coburn's latest newsletter, however, there are other things that affect every American, either directly or indirectly, and one of them is the fact that almost 1 million of our citizens are reported missing every year as recorded by FBI and NCIC reports.  Yes, some return home safely within a few days, but thousands do not, and thousands NEVER come home, but are part of a vast repository of unidentified remains.

The Help Find the Missing Act will act to bridge the gap between the active missing persons cases and those who are unidentified, enabling thousands of families, like the family of Billy Smolinski, to find resolution to their cases.  Many of these families have accepted the fact that their loved one has met with foul play, but not one of them can, nor will, accept the fact that the remains of their loved ones are unable to be found and put to rest properly.

I urge every missing person's websites, databases, family members and supporters to UNITE and help get this important piece of legislation passed into law for the benefit of a national response to the epidemic of missing persons.

Becky Castillo, a volunteer with the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department – Coroner Division, who assists the Unidentified-Missing Persons Coordinator, Deputy Coroner Investigator David Van Norman in handling cases of missing and unidentified persons, has given  a sample letter to send to Senator Coburn on the missing person's support site, Peace4 the Missing.

Please take just a few minutes of your time today and personalize the following sample letter with your own stories or opinions.  If you do not live in Oklahoma, it's best to mail a letter from your post office as emails from outside Oklahoma will most likely not be read.

NOTE:  Remember this is a sample letter, all the facts are here; use some of it, part of it, and in some cases, if you have to, use it all. In the letter you will see (Insert personal story or Oklahoma's statistics) make sure you do this, when you are finished have it be your own.

Senator Coburn,

I am writing this letter in support of pending legislation, Billy's Law

(S3019). According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, over 4,000

unidentified remains are discovered each year.

After one year, 1,000 of these bodies remain unidentified. With tens of

thousands of people reported missing each year, it is likely that a

family member, friend, or loved one is looking for that unidentified

person and simply can't find them due to the absence of a cooperative

effort by law enforcement across the country.

Some law enforcement agencies have a lackadaisical attitude when they receive a report for the “voluntarily missing” and often there is very little effort to search for them. The problem is when the case goes long term. If there is any follow-up at all, often it is long after the initial report. Often those long term cases have not been resolved because the missing person has died and their remains lay unidentified in a county morgue or cemetery.

(Insert personal story or Oklahoma's statistics)

The problem we face is there is no national protocol in play to assist

investigators to bridge the gap between missing persons and unidentified

persons cases.

The Help Find the Missing Act will bridge the gap.

The National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) is

by far becoming one of the best ways for the public and law enforcement

agencies across the country to work together to help bring missing loved

ones home! Since its launch in June of last year, the database of

unidentified decedents and missing persons has proved essential in

solving 16 cases. With the passing of Billy's Law, this number only

stands to grow. Unfortunately, without the funding of Billy's Law not

all law enforcement agencies are able to allocate the resources

necessary to use the NamUs system.

The passing of Billy's Law would make it possible for agencies across

the country to input information on their unidentified decedents,

increasing the number of case resolutions and potentially bringing

closure to families of missing persons all across our country.

I support this funding and hope that you do as well. I respectfully urge

you to pass S3019 when it comes before you.

Respectfully,

More useful information from Becky Castillo:

Unidentified Persons:

There are more than 40,000 unidentified human remains are held in evidence rooms of medical examiners throughout the U.S. but only about 7,000 active unidentified persons cases in entered into NCIC.

Sources:

NCIC Active/Expired Unidentified Person Analysis Report; NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics for 2009

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/missingpersons2009.htm

• As of December 31, 2009, there were 7,302 unidentified person records in NCIC.

• During 2009, 1,040 unidentified person records were entered into NCIC

Bureau of Justice Special Report: Medical Examiners and Coroners Offices, 2004; June 2007, NCJ 216756

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/meco04.pdf

• 4,400 unidentified human decedents reported in an average year; 1,000 remained unidentified after 1 year

• An estimated 20% of ME/C offices reported they used the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) “somewhat often” or “very often” while 80% of ME/C offices reported they “rarely or never” used NCIC

• (California was the only State that mandated information about the unidentified be reported to NCIC within a specified period. About 42% of all records in the NCIC unidentified persons file were from California.)

Side Note: If your missing loved one ended up deceased in a jurisdiction that does not report to NCIC, they may never be identified! NamUs can help to change that!

Missing Persons:

Every year, tens of thousands of people vanish under suspicious circumstances.

On any given day there are approximately 100,000 active missing person cases in the U.S.

(Approximately 2,300 persons are reported missing per day)

Sources:

NCIC Active/Expired Unidentified Person Analysis Report; NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics for 2009

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/missingpersons2009.htm

• As of December 31, 2009, NCIC contained 96,192 active missing person records.

• During 2009, 719,558 missing person records were entered into NCIC.

These are only statistics. This is not meant to be used "as is" in the letter. Use it as a resource to state your facts confidently. Your letter must come from your heart...

Michelle Rust: Missing Mother From Maryland

On July 20, 2002 Michelle Rust left her home to go shopping for birthday supplies for her son's third birthday party which was being held later the same day.  What started out as a trip to the store ended up being the last time anyone has seen Michelle.  The last person to see her, her husband, Dwight, or "D.J."

When she didn't return to her home in Halethorpe, MD on time, family members started searching for her and found her vehicle abandoned in the neighboring community, Landsdowne, with a key broken off on the driver's side door lock.

The community and family came together and organized searches for Michelle, but they did not yield any clues as to her whereabouts.  No clothing, jewelry or personal items were ever found, not even a black bag she carried with her diabetic supplies inside.  After several months authorities categorized her vanishing as foul play and, of course, started searching for suspects.

It's reported that her husband, "D.J." was having extramarital affairs and feared that one of his girlfriends may have done harm to Michelle.  Authorities said that no one has reported seeing Michelle leave her home that day, other than what "D.J." told them.  He maintains his innocence in her disappearance and says that he saw her in her vehicle rounding the bend while leaving their home.  He also states there was no one else seen in the car with her.

Michelle Rust was attending Halethorpe Community Church and helped coordinate the youth activities there.  Those who knew her, adults and youth alike, described her as "likable with a passion and a heart for people."  Several of the youth befriended her and her vanishing left them mourning and praying for her return.  Although her parents, Ray and Gwen Lins, have accepted the fact that she is likely dead, they also describe her as a loving, caring mother who would never leave her child.

Although "D.J." Rust divorced Michelle in 2007, he still lives in the same home from which she disappeared in 2002 and retains custody of their son.   He has not been ruled out as a suspect.  After all these years the only ones who have been ruled out as suspects are Michelle's parents, Ray and Gwen Lins, who continue to miss her.

There is still an open and ongoing investigation and someone knows something.  By circulating this article around the internet you will be doing your small part in possibly getting the information in front of that someone who knows.

From FBI:

DESCRIPTION

Date of Birth: July 27, 1977
Place of Birth: Baltimore, Maryland 
Sex: Female
Hair: Red 
Height: 5'4"
Eyes: Blue 
Weight: 140 pounds
Race: White 


REMARKS

Michelle Rust was last known to be wearing a black v-neck shirt along with the following jewelry: a white gold cross necklace, a blue sapphire ring, and a diamond engagement ring. She is an insulin dependent diabetic.

Individuals with information concerning this case should take no action themselves, but instead immediately contact the nearest FBI Office or local law enforcement agency. For any possible sighting outside the United States, contact the nearest United States Embassy or Consulate.


If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: 
Baltimore County Police 
410-307-2020 
OR 
410-887-3943 

NamUs #MP 2279   https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/2279/0/

Families of Missing Persons Need Your Help Now

H.R. 3695, The Help Find the Missing Act needs the support of everyone.

Every year tens of thousands of Americans go missing, never to be seen by their loved ones again. Additionally, there are also an estimated 40,000 sets of unidentified human remains that are being held or disposed of across the country. Sadly, because of gaps in the nation's missing persons systems, missing persons and unidentified remains are rarely matched. The Help Find the Missing Act (Billy's Law) is an effort to fix these gaps. We want to help families to have the resources so that we can lessen the burden on the system as well as bringing loved ones home for a proper burial.

Sponsored by Representatives Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Ted Poe (R-TX)

This legislation is named after Billy Smolinski of Waterbury, Connecticut who went missing on August 24, 2004 at the age of 31. Billy's family knows all-too-well the systemic challenges in trying to find the missing. They quickly learned that while federal law mandates law enforcement report missing children, there are no such requirements for adults - or unidentified bodies. Compounding this problem is the fact that local law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and coroners, often don't have the resources or training to voluntarily report these cases. Finally, even when missing adults and remains are reported, the wide-range of unconnected federal, state, local, and non-profit databases to help match the missing with unidentified bodies, makes finding a match an often insurmountable challenge.

The easiest and quickest way to show your support and contact your Representatives is to go to the following and sign up. Everything else is done for you including providing a direct phone number to make a follow up call.

or, Create a Petition

Change.org