Maryland – April 23rd, 2005 – The Maryland Missing Persons Network, along with the Missing and Exploited Children's Association of Maryland, is announcing ‘Circle of Hope' to remember Maryland's missing persons. This event will be held in Annapolis on Thursday, May 25th, 2006 between 6:30 – 8:30 p.m, at Lawyer's Mall. May 25th is National Missing Children's Day.
Friends and family of Maryland's missing children and adults are invited to this event to remember their lost loved ones. We encourage family and friends to bring photos and mementos of their lost loved ones. Family members who cannot attend this ceremony, but would like their loved one remembered at this event, can contact Marian Derossett with the Maryland Missing Persons Network at 410-766-8040.
The Missing and Exploited Children's Association of Maryland is a 501c non-profit that began in 1985 by three women in Lutherville, Maryland, after seeing pictures of missing children in the grocery store. It partners with the Maryland Center for Missing Children. MECA has helped bring legislative change to Maryland involving missing and exploited children. It also provides family support to families dealing with missing person's situations. To learn more about Meca, please see its web site at http://www.mecamd.com/.
The Maryland Missing Person Network is the Maryland Chapter of an international missing persons organization called The Doe Network. The Doe Network has over 1,400 volunteers internationally who cross match missing person profiles with unidentified human remains. This type of networking has helped connect over 40 identity matches across the US, including five in Maryland. To see Maryland's missing online, please visit http://www.marylandmissing.com/.
Each year, over 800,000 persons are reported missing in the United States. Most of these are missing children, who are found within hours of missing. Maryland has over 500 long-term missing persons (over 1 year), and has over 200 bodies which have never been identified since 1991.