IN- Molly Dattilo, 23, Indianapolis

[ShowerSinger]

Indiana
IUPUI college student last seen July 6, 2004. She left her apartment to apply for a job at a nearby Wendy's restaurant. She left behind her ID, bank card, and car.

[Salsa]

Police have few leads in students disappearance....

http://www.indystar.com/articles/6/162928-1526-127.html

[Doyle]

A college student who disappeared more than a week ago in Indianapolis remains missing, and police say they have no clues to her whereabouts.

Molly Dattilo, 23, a Madison native who had been attending summer classes at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, was last seen the evening of July 6 as she headed to a fast-food restaurant to apply for a job.

Marion County Sheriff's Detective Mark Henninger said investigators have no leads and no evidence of a crime.

"This case is being treated as that of a missing person," Henninger told The Madison Courier.

Dattilo is described as 5 feet tall and about 100 pounds. She has light brown hair and green eyes and a dime-sized birthmark on one arm. She disappeared with only the clothes she was wearing and the keys to her apartment in her possession, family members said.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/2/163169-6362-009.html

[Char]

:( This is so sad. Just a quick question, why would this seemingly intelligent young woman go for a job application and/or work at a restaurant without her identification? Now adays you can never be too careful. Hopefully she will be found soon.

[txsvicki]

I didn't quite understand that first news article link. Did she leave to go to the fast food restaurant by foot or did she never make it into her car? There seems to be so many missing young women around college age! Now there are two missing young women in my town in the last few months with similar circumstances. NO leads and nothing missing, car in place, no signs of disturbance. At least that is what's being told to the public.

[ShowerSinger]

It seems obvious to me, that foul-play is involved here! The young lady was going to drop off an application. All she had was her clothes on her back, and keys. She is an avid runner, and probably thought nothing of walking to the restaurant. She also was planning to audition for American Idol, and had been practicing with a voice coach. Nobody has heard from her.

[Kelly]

Searchers find no trace of missing IUPUI student





This story ran on nwitimes.com on Sunday, August 1, 2004 12:04 AM CDT



ADVERTISEMENT





INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Police divers searched a pond Saturday for a missing college student while her friends and relatives searched a wooded area nearby.

Police did not find anything that could reveal what happened to 23-year-old Molly Dattilo, Indianapolis television stations reported.

Dattilo, an Eastern Kentucky University student who had been attending summer classes at IUPUI, was last seen the evening of July 6 as she headed to a fast-food restaurant to apply for a job.

Detective Mark Henninger of the Marion County Sheriff's Department said investigators have no leads in the case and there is no sign of foul play.

Dattilo's friends and family members are convinced otherwise.

"Knowing Molly, she's not the type of person to just run off," said Vince Roberts, a family friend. "We feel like we're losing time."

Dozens of people showed up Saturday to search a wooded area near Dattilo's apartment on the west side of Indianapolis and to distribute fliers with her photo. The search was organized by Dattilo's sister, Celestra Dattilo Hoffman.

Dattilo, a Madison native, is described as 5 feet tall and weighing about 100 pounds. She has light brown hair and green eyes and a dime-sized birthmark on one of her arms.

She disappeared with only the clothes she was wearing and the keys to her apartment in her possession, family members said.


http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2004/08/01/news/region_and_state/5b5bb32cf41803c186256ee2007c2d49.txt

[txsvicki]

It sounds very familiar to 2 missing girls in my town except that they seem to have disappeared from their home. I am convinced that there are serial killers running around abducting young college age women. I read that there are about 3,500 missing young women in the U.S.

[ISPTRAX]

College student missing after leaving to walk to a Wendy's.

http://www.dattilofamily.org/

[ShowerSinger]

www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=2843209&nav=ORZFVURv

[WasBlind]

http://www.dattilofamily.org/

[PrayersForMaura]

Was this the girl who was working towards auditioning on American Idol?

Did she ever make it to an audition? Have LE or her family checked with American Idol? Maybe she went off to audition in another city in another state and met a terrible fate??

[PrayersForMaura]

I still wonder ... did she ever make it to try for American Idol?? What if she drove off to a city to audition and met a terrible fate ... or was she a person who made it through to another round of cuts or maybe was she cut???

This seems so odd. I've not heard anything more about her :(

[blueclouds]

http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/227855-6560-009.html

http://www.dattilofamily.org/

Saw a brief interview on Greta tonight, she had Molly's sisters on. I didn't even hear of this case until tonight.

Prayers and love to the family. MY goodness, how many people do we truly loose that are never national news???? DON'T THEY ALL COUNT?

:banghead: :banghead:

[Salsa]

Blue, I saw this too on Nancy Grace and it rang a bell.....here's an old thread.

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10134&highlight=molly+dattilo

There's hasn't been any press on this case for some time....I pray the family someday has some answers and of course hope she's found safe, but it's been nearly 8 mths or so and doesn't look so great :(

[ariel7]

http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/227855-6560-009.html

http://www.dattilofamily.org/

Saw a brief interview on Greta tonight, she had Molly's sisters on. I didn't even hear of this case until tonight.

Prayers and love to the family. MY goodness, how many people do we truly loose that are never national news???? DON'T THEY ALL COUNT?

:banghead: :banghead:

This frustrates me more than anything!
I'm so glad that little Jessica L. is getting so much attention,
but I wish that others would, too.
:(

Ariel

[meggilyweggily]

MY goodness, how many people do we truly loose that are never national news????
Thousands, I'm afraid. For every missing person that makes national news there are thousands who languish in obscurity. Little Jyrine Harris (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/harris_jyrine.html) disappeared the same month Elizabeth Smart did, and under similar circumstances -- vanished mysteriously from his bedroom in the middle of the night. I doubt many people have heard of him. I myself found, like, three articles on the case after a most diligent search.

[KatherineQ]

Prayers for poor Jyrine.

I know often it seems like white girls get all the attention of the media, and that's all people are interested in, and I guess partially that's true. But when you read a story like Jyrine's, it's so confusing and frustrating that by the time you get to the end of it, who KNOWS what happened to that boy. When you've got felons in and out of that house at all hours, and spending the night "watching tv", and noticing kids are missing in the wee hours, and history of horrible abuse, on and on. His is not the kind of story like Jessica Lunsfords where the public imagines if they just think hard enough, they can think of where Jessica could be.

With this boy, God knows.

[KatherineQ]

Reading through Molly Datillo's case - it sounded SO FAMILIAR. The look, the life history, the calling her a "child" and "childlike".

Kelly Katherine Wagner - this girl's case seems so like Molly's. They seem like virtual twins - same look in the eyes. Kelly apparently committed suicide by drowning herself in a lake in Amarillo early this year after disappearing on her birthday.

http://amarillo.com/stories/011105/new_1004452.shtml

Prayers that Molly will be returned safely somehow - I wonder if suicide has been considered a possibility in her case?

[PrayersForMaura]

There is a thread on this, I posted on it a few times. I think she went off to try out for American Idol and something happened to her. Silly thought, I know, but she liked to sing and there was a mention that she wanted to try out for that show...

[PrayersForMaura]

Here's the original thread: http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10134

[WasBlind]

Original thread (http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10134)

Second thread (http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13971)

Prayers of HOPE for Molly, Lanie

[WasBlind]

...MY goodness, how many people do we truly loose that are never national news???? DON'T THEY ALL COUNT? ...

Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Two...that's 2,302...

...every DAY

That's the ones reported, according to the NCIC stats from 2001 (http://www.rinokids.com)

There are no current stats on missing adults, as most are not reported, due to various misunderstandings of the law.

Most come home or are found within 7-10 days. But every year, around 97,000 never come home.

In the time it took for me to type this post, five people (adults and children) went missing in America.

It's a catastrophic problem that has reached epidemic proportions.

Please pray for the missing, and those who search.

With LOVE and HOPE, Lanie

[PrayersForMaura]

bumping to keep Molly in the minds and hearts of all of us

[mysteriew]

The Indiana Missing Person Awareness Event, which was scheduled to end Sunday evening with a dance, was sponsored by Burton's office and Jillian's. The entertainment center agreed to donate 10 percent of the day's revenue to the searches for Molly Laura Dattilo, 23, who disappeared in July, and Lola Katherine Fry, who was 28 when she vanished more than 11 years ago.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050502/NEWS01/505020392

[fourboys]

Monday Is Molly Datillo's Birthday, But Family Isn't Celebrating With Her

POSTED: June 13, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS -- Monday is Molly Dattilo's 24th birthday, but her family is not celebrating with her.

The IUPUI student has been missing nearly a year, and the search for her continues.

To remember her birthday and to renew hope in finding her, Dattilo's family is releasing balloons at 11:30 a.m. in Military Park.

Molly was last seen July 6 on the city's west side, near 10th Street and Interstate 465.

Since then, there have been numerous searches in the area, rewards offered, and billboards seeking information. So far, there's no sign of her.

Molly grew up in southern Indiana and lived there until she went to college.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/4600938/detail.html (http://www.theindychannel.com/news/4600938/detail.html)

[Peabody]

INDIANAPOLIS -- There are two new developments in the mysterious
disappearance of Molly Dattilo, now missing for nearly a year.

Marion County sheriff's investigators were in Kentucky Monday,
interviewing the person alleged to be the last person to see Dattilo.

Monday would have been Molly's 24th birthday.

The 5-foot, 100-pound Dattilo went missing July 6, 2004, from her
far west side apartment complex.

Friends said she just disappeared, leaving her cell phone, her
clothing, books, and bank account behind.

"We hope the person can provide us with some information that will
help us bring this to closure. But, he's definitely not a suspect at
this point," Capt. Phil Burton said.

read more at: http://www.theindychannel.com/news/4603826/detail.html (http://www.theindychannel.com/news/4603826/detail.html)

[Kelly]

News from the family:

"I want to let you know that on Sat. July 2, at 4:35 ET/ 3:35 CT, The Fox News Channel (not the local Fox network, but the cable station) has offered to do an interview with Kendra for Molly's year anniversary. Det. Kathryn Bryon, from the Marion County Sheriff's Dept., will also be interviewed.

We are very grateful for The Fox News Channel, because they extended the interview to us. Also, Marion County is finally going to be involved in this one. Hopefully, you will have a moment to watch. The interview will probably be pretty quick, so it won't take too much time out of the holiday weekend."

[ShowerSinger]

Thanks for the info, Kelly. And, a big round of applause to Fox news. We'll be watching!

[mysteriew]

It's been one year since Molly Dattilo was reported missing in the area of the Westlake Apartment complex. She walked to a nearby Wendy's to check on a job application.

Detectives now know she walked back. But it's still a mystery as to exactly when she disappeared.

As more time passes, the more critical it becomes. Captain Burton says this is not a cold case, but as time passes it's getting colder. "So, we're hoping that something will come to light to allow us to bring this to closure."

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=3559298&nav=9TahboCc

Family and friends of a college student who vanished from Indianapolis one year ago held a 24-hour vigil today to remind people her disappearance remains unsolved.

May said investigators regularly discuss progress in the case.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050706/NEWS01/50706016

The Marion County sheriff’s detective assigned to the Dattilo case said on the Fox program that Molly Dattilo’s disappearance is still considered a missing-persons case but that she has “not ruled out foul play.”

The detective, Catherine Byron, however, wouldn’t say whether she has any suspects. The family had been told there was a “person of interest,” but she didn’t refer to that.

The first two times the host of the Fox News program asked if there was a suspect, Byron said, “I have talked to a number of people in this case and I continue to talk to anyone with information.”

The third time the host asked, she said, “I can’t answer that question right now.”

Byron said she gets “daily tips and leads” that she follows.

http://www.madisoncourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=253&ArticleID=24794

[mysteriew]

Kendra Dattilo Skidmore obtained national attention Friday night on CNN's "Larry King Live" show for her missing sister, 23-year-old Molly Dattilo, who disappeared in Indianapolis on July 6, 2004.
"I believe she was lured away somehow and taken," Skidmore, Salt Lake City, said on the TV show, whose topic was "Missing Persons Cold Cases." Dattilo was last seen at a Westside Indianapolis fast-food restaurant, submitting a job application.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051126/NEWS01/511260446

[PrayersForMaura]

Did they ever check out the American Idol try outs??

[lostfaith]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060109/NEWS02/601090369/1008/NEWS01


courier-journal.com > Indiana View 7 days > Su M Tu W Th F Sa Adv. search >


Monday, January 9, 2006 E-mail this | Print page



Flashback: | MOLLY DATTILO
Missing Indiana woman's family hasn't lost hope
WHAT WE KNEW

After six months with no solid leads, the Madison, Ind., family of missing 23-year-old Molly Dattilo was still hoping last January for a miracle, or an explanation. Dattilo, a scholarship runner at Eastern Kentucky University and singer with her sights set on American Idol, disappeared July 6, 2004, in Indianapolis, where she was living for the summer.

WHAT'S NEW
"Who says we've given up?" Molly's sister, Kendra Skidmore, said last week, even though there have been no new leads in the case. "Somebody stopped her in her tracks. She was trying to achieve her goals and someone stopped her in her tracks. … Who was this?"



Last March, an anonymous donor offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to Dattilo's discovery and the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance. The family hopes someone will speak up before the reward offer expires March 31.

"It's very difficult to have hope that she's still alive somewhere," Skidmore said. "This is someone who has always been in touch with her mother."

The family was hit hard again Dec. 14 with the death of Dattilo's father, Fred.

"He was just about ready to go to Indianapolis himself and go searching," Skidmore said.

"Though he had been in ill health for some time, I think that, in part, he died of grief," said his son, Ben Dattilo. "At his funeral, we hung a picture of Dad holding Molly, his baby girl, when she was a little toddler."

[Bobbisangel]

I feel so bad that her dad died without knowing what happened to his girl. I hope that he is reunited with Molly now and that they are having a great time just being together. I sure wish Molly would be found.

[PrayersForMaura]

I feel so bad that her dad died without knowing what happened to his girl. I hope that he is reunited with Molly now and that they are having a great time just being together. I sure wish Molly would be found.
Oh no! :(
This is so sad!
I had been following this case for quite some time too. I always had this crazy thought that she ran off to try out for American idol and something happened to her along the way.

Her poor father. Well, maybe Molly and he will meet again with the angels.
:angel:

Prayers for the Datillos.
May they find some answers someday soon.

[Kelly]

Molly's cousin, Keri, steps forward and is working to make a difference for the missing:

http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/2006/01/12606-hero-in-making.html

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/

[Kelly]

This is a follow-up post in regards to the meeting held yesterday in Indiana. (See the prior post.)


http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/2006/01/12706-meeting-in-indiana.html

Kelly

[Bobbisangel]

Nothing new on the search for Molly? I haven't seen anything in the media about her lately or for a while I should say. Where is she?????

[lostfaith]

Still no answers for family, reward expiring. :(


http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060326/NEWS01/603260430/1006/NEWS01

[PrayersForMaura]

Still no answers for family, reward expiring. :(


http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060326/NEWS01/603260430/1006/NEWS01

This is sad :(

Someone knows something and this is very upsetting!!

[lostfaith]

Nice article on Molly

http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/0706/2701_molly_datillo.html

[IndyLaw]

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/10050553/detail.html

[Usher737]

Is LE claiming that Molly made a call from a payphone ? The article is kind of confusing. How can they be sure it was Molly who made the call if it was just a hangup?

[IndyLaw]

You're right, it is somewhat confusing. It seems there's a significant part that's being left out, hopefully for good reasons.

I've tried to find other local stories about it, but have come up with nothing so far.

[Rle7]

The family of an EKU student missing for more than two years has released more information about her in hopes of filling in the blanks that remain in the mysterious disappearance.

Molly Dattilo was 23 at the time of her disappearance in July 2004. Her family said that Dattilo was in Indiana taking summer classes and disappeared when she went to return a job application.

On Thursday, Dattilo's family said Molly was last seen with a man named John E. Shelton, whom she had met at her friend Carolyn Warmouth's apartment. Family members also released the details of the last phone call Dattilo made to a friend from a Thorton's gas station near her apartment.

http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=5891200&nav=menu203_1

[Rle7]

Originally, the family said she had last been seen walking to an Indianapolis fast-food restaurant to apply for a job.

But yesterday Ben Dattilo said the family has learned she later met an Indianapolis man at her apartment complex, went on a rowboat ride with him on a lake at the complex, and then went to eat dinner with him at a nearby Taco Bell.

Then, he said, the pair went to a gas station, where Molly Dattilo tried to phone a friend. But the call was disconnected when the friend answered, he said.

"We have every reason to believe she placed her last phone call in (the man's) presence from this location," Ben Dattilo said. "We do not know what happened after this phone call, but it's our family's sincerest hope that others may have information about what happened that night, what happened to Molly or where she is now."

The Courier-Journal is not naming the man because he has not been charged with a crime or named by police as a suspect.

Dattilo declined to comment on whether the man is considered a suspect and would not say whether police have interviewed him.

Yesterday Scott Robinett, the deputy chief of investigations for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said the Dattilo investigation continues. But he said police are not prepared to name or discount any suspects.

"We still consider this a missing-persons case," Robinett said. "The family considers it more than that."

The Dattilo family, which has hired several private investigators to help them search, has said repeatedly that they believe Molly did not simply leave Indianapolis on her own to start a new life. She left behind her car, money, cell phone, bank card and identification.

They say that she attended classes the day she disappeared. Also, there was a receipt in her car showing that she had purchased supplies for classes and her hobbies, as well as a child's toy that they believe is evidence she meant to attend her nephew's birthday party later that month.

"Molly's activities the day she disappeared and in previous weeks clearly point to the conclusion that she did not leave of her own free will," Ben Dattilo said.

He said the family has "lost all but a glimmer of hope that she's alive."

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070105/NEWS02/701050418

[Kelly]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070204/NEWS02/702040545

Push is on to improve search for missing.
Madison woman's case prompts action


February 4, 2007

INDIANAPOLIS -- The cousin of a missing Madison woman is working with state lawmakers to establish new procedures for police to follow when adults are reported missing.

Bills introduced in the House and Senate also would require police to collect DNA evidence for people who are missing as well as from unidentified bodies and put them in the same national database so matches can be found more quickly.


"It's going to save time and save money if things are done right in the beginning," said Keri Dattilo, whose cousin Molly Dattilo of Madison disappeared more than two years ago.

Molly Dattilo was in Indianapolis attending summer classes when she vanished. She has not been located.

"This legislation helps law enforcement prioritize cases," Keri Dattilo said. "My family and I just don't want to have any other families go through the experience we went through. We want to see some changes."

Molly Dattilo's brother reported her missing two days after she disappeared. But although police took a report, her cousin said, they did not seem to consider the situation serious for several weeks.

According to the Dattilo family, Molly did not take her money, car or other belongings. Keri Dattilo said that kind of situation should prompt a more intense investigation.

Last month, Scott Robinett, the deputy chief of investigations for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said the Dattilo investigation continues as a "missing persons case" but not necessarily a criminal one.

House Bill 1306 and Senate Bill 464 establish criteria for police to determine whether an adult is a "high risk missing person" and then sets out procedures for dealing with those cases.

It also requires police to provide family with contact information for missing-persons organizations and to collect DNA evidence for anyone missing more than 30 days.

The bills are based on model legislation prepared by the U.S. Justice Department and pushed by groups that serve as advocates for families of missing people.

The House bill, written by Rep. Dave Cheatham, D-North Vernon, is tentatively scheduled to be heard in the House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee on Feb. 15. Dattilo plans to come to Indianapolis to testify.

The state police already have raised questions about implementing some of the procedures outlined in the bill and are working with Cheatham on amendments. He said those will be introduced at the February hearing.

"This is model legislation, so there are always going to be changes to make it work for a specific state," Cheatham said. "I think we can work it out."

The Senate bill, written by Sen. Connie Sipes, D-New Albany, has not been scheduled for a hearing.

Capt. Sherry Beck, the legislative liaison for the state police, said the department doesn't oppose the ideas in the bills. But they might go too far.

"The way the current bill is written, if a man with a green hat was standing on the corner and somebody noticed he was there a few days and then he's not, they could walk into the police department and say the man was missing and the police would have to do a report," Beck said. "He may not be missing, but we would have to assign resources to it."

Police often receive calls about people who haven't shown up for work and are feared missing or about people who are trying to escape an abusive spouse and don't want to be found. As written, bills don't account for those situations, Beck said.

"Currently what we do is ask enough specific questions and find out whether there is an issue," she said.

The model legislation suggested by the Justice Department has been adopted in some form in Washington, Colorado and the District of Columbia, said Kelly Jolkowski, founder and president of Nebraska-based Project Jason, a group that helps families. But she expects all states will make some changes.

She's recruiting volunteers, including Keri Dattilo, to try to get the legislation passed across the country. Dattilo also is working to get the bill passed in California, where she lives.

Volunteers also are active in Oregon, Connecticut, Ohio, Tennessee, Florida and Missouri. Jolkowski said she doesn't have a volunteer working in Kentucky, although she said she's always looking for help.

"So many missing persons are lost in the system because the right steps aren't taken," Jolkowski said "These procedures will hopefully resolve cases quicker."

More than five* years ago, Jolkowski's son Jason, then 19, disappeared from their home. He was last seen dragging trashcans up the driveway from the curb. He has not been found.

Jolkowski said a key of the proposed legislation is the DNA procedures, which would allow law enforcement with a missing person in one jurisdiction to link the case to an unidentified body in another place.

Currently, she said, many states allow unidentified bodies to be buried or cremated without ever obtaining DNA that could be used to identify them later. The bills would prevent unidentified bodies from being cremated.

"This is about connecting the dots," Jolkowski said. "There's an average of about 105,000 open missing-persons cases at any one time, and there's an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 unidentified remains. Who knows how many other bodies out there have been buried or cremated without identification, with families somewhere without knowledge of what happened."

* Corrected from original text, which said six years.

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/

[Kelly]

Project Jason is pleased to announce the success of the 1st hearing in Indiana for our Campaign for the Missing (http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/2005/12/121305-campaign-for-missing-2006.html):

The voices of the families of the missing will be heard! We congratulate the family members who have worked so hard to make this happen, especially Keri Dattillo and the families of Karen Jo Smith and Katherine Lola Fry.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/11022790/detail.html

Bill Requiring Quicker Reaction In Missing Adult Cases Advances
Relatives Of Missing Adults Testify Before House Committee

POSTED: 11:33 am EST February 15, 2007
UPDATED: 11:50 am EST February 15, 2007

It was an emotional day at the Indiana Statehouse for the families of Molly Dattilo, Wade Steffey and other missing Hoosiers as relatives testified in favor of a bill that would require police to start investigations sooner for missing adults.

Under current law, police don't have to start looking right away, unless there is immediate evidence of a crime.

The bill would require an investigation to begin right away if there is suspicion of foul play.

Keri Dattilo, Molly's cousin, said current guidelines cost valuable time when the trail is still warm.

"Marion County saw no trail of blood, no murder weapon, no trace of anything leading to Molly," Dattilo said. "So, they immediately decided that Molly chose to run away. But the family knew that something was seriously wrong. Molly would not just run off."

The bill passed unanimously in committee and now goes to the full House.

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=6093409

Families make emotional plea on missing persons bill

Feb 15, 2007 11:41 AM CST

Indianapolis - Lawmakers heard emotional testimony from the families of missing persons in the state Thursday. They are now asking the legislature to help other families who may go through a similar heartbreaking situation in the future.

The Datillos and the Steffeys know lawmakers will not be able to help them, but they stand together as one in their belief that law enforcement can and needs to be required to do more in the case of missing persons.

Outside the committee room this morning, a table covered with leaflets of missing persons like Molly Dattillo and Lola Katherine Fry. They represent the faces of the missing that some families feel whose cases were not taken seriously.

"We are here because we want change. We want the public to know it could happen to them and if it happens to them they need to know there is a law that will stand up for them," said Kari Dattilo, Molly Dattilo's cousin.

Jill Larimore, another relative of Molly Dattilo, said the family feels as if someone dropped the ball. "Absolutely from day one with Molly. From day one. I feel the police did not respond in a timely manner. The Dattilo family was trying to call them and give information. Get anything done they could get done and they were not getting returned calls or getting anything they needed. It might have even helped the family with peace of mind."

"We are going everywhere we can to find help. It's been a little over a month now. It's very alarming for us to hear stories from other families who have children or relative missing for two years or fourteen years. It's alarming to consider that long term not knowing. All we want to know is where our son is," said Dale Steffey, father of Purdue student Wade Steffey, who disappeared while walking home after a party in January.

[JanetElaine]

:clap: :clap: :clap:

Wonderful!

[Kelly]

Legislation bolsters police response on missing people (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070216/NEWS02/702160483)

Friday, February 16, 2007

Legislation bolsters police response on missing people
House committee approves measure

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS -- A House committee approved a bill yesterday to bolster police responses to reports of missing adults, turning back efforts to weaken it following testimony by the family of Molly Dattilo of Madison and others whose loved ones have disappeared.

House Bill 1306 cleared the Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee unanimously after members first agreed to go along with changes requested by the state police, but then discarded most of them when families tearfully said the changes would render the measure nearly useless.

"Our voices would be left out of the process" under the changes, said Keri Dattilo, whose cousin disappeared from Indianapolis more than two years ago. "They would leave out everything that would have helped Molly. She's missing from this."

The bill establishes criteria for police to determine whether an adult is a "high risk missing person" and then sets out procedures for dealing with those cases. It also requires police to provide families with contact information for missing-persons organizations.

The bill is based on, but is not identical to, model legislation prepared by the U.S. Department of Justice and pushed by groups that advocate for families of missing people.

Dattilo told the committee yesterday that the requirements of the bill would have jump-started the investigation into Molly's disappearance. She said police initially did not take her cousin's situation seriously because there was no obvious crime scene -- no trail of blood or witness to an abduction.

HB 1306 would require action in some cases even without such evidence, said the bill's author, Rep. Dave Cheatham, D-North Vernon.

It lists specific criteria for determining which cases qualify. Among them is that a person doesn't have a pattern of running away or a person is younger than 21.

State police officials did not attend or testify at the hearing yesterday. Rep. Mike Murphy, R-Indianapolis, said that complicated matters.

"This process was made so much more difficult because they weren't here," he said.

Cheatham had been negotiating with the agency's legislative liaison for weeks about the bill and had agreed to make several changes to meet police concerns.

Last month the liaison, Capt. Sherry Beck, said the state police lacks the resources to immediately follow up on every missing-person call, particularly when many turn out to be people who are late for work, stayed out with a new love interest or are trying to escape an abusive spouse. She said Cheatham's original bill didn't account for those situations.

"Currently what we do is ask enough specific questions and find out whether there is an issue," Beck said then.

Yesterday, lawmakers heard only from families who have been desperately searching for loved ones. Some, including Dattilo, talked about frustrations with law enforcement.

"They lost crucial evidence because they didn't get started," she said.

But Dale Steffey, whose 19-year-old son Wade was reported missing last month from West Lafayette, where he is a student, said police were extremely helpful and engaged in his case.

Still, he said, "we believe the Purdue University police would have benefited from having this list of procedures from the start."

The bill also would allow someone filing a missing-persons report to do so by telephone or e-mail instead of in person. Filing the report allows police to step up their activity in searching.

Steffey said he had to drive to West Lafayette from his home in Bloomington to sign the report on his son. In his case that was only a couple of hours, but for someone filing a report from across the country it could be a huge difference, he said.

HB 1306 also requires a law-enforcement agency to communicate with the family of a missing person.

"Communication with the families is just critical," Steffey said.

Committee members initially removed that section of the bill yesterday, along with many of the criteria for determining who is a "high risk missing person," because Cheatham said that was the deal he struck with state police.

But after the testimony, lawmakers restored much of that language.

"We're erring on the side of the missing person," said Rep. Ron Herrell, D-Kokomo, the committee's chairman.

Dattilo said after the meeting that she was pleased that the committee restored much of the original language, and Steffey agreed.

"It sounded like we made a difference," he said.

[Kelly]

Missing persons bill clears Senate panel (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070313/NEWS02/70313022)

UPDATED: 1:58 PM
Missing persons bill clears Senate panel

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS — A Senate committee today approved legislation meant to bolster police response to reports of missing adults after hearing from families whose loved ones have disappeared.

House Bill 1306 now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

“We need law enforcement to take responsibility and to act immediately,” Keri Dattilo, whose cousin Molly Dattilo of Madison has been missing for more than two years, told the Homeland Security, Transportation & Veterans Affairs Committee.

Molly Dattilo’s case sparked interest in the legislation. The bill’s primary author, Rep. Dave Cheatham, represents Madison, and the Senate sponsor, Sen. Mike Young, represents the Indianapolis area where she was staying at the time of her disappearance.

The committee made a number of changes to the bill to accommodate the concerns of police officials, but the sponsors said the resulting measure would still achieve its primary goal of helping to locate missing adults.

HB 1306 establishes criteria for police to determine whether an adult is a “high risk missing person” and then sets out procedures for dealing with those cases. A person could be determined to be “high risk” even if there is no direct evidence of a crime, such as bloodstains or witnesses to an abduction.

Molly Dattilo would have qualified as a high risk missing person, forcing police to begin searching for her more quickly, Keri Dattilo said. In that case, there were no obvious signs of wrongdoing, but the family maintains she left behind key belongings and had no history of disappearing.

[Kelly]

Here is a limited time link to a very touching video about the proceedings in Indiana today:

WTHR Video Player (http://www.wthr.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=1297529&h1=Missing%20persons%20bill&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=142267&LaunchPageAdTag=Homepage&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.wthr.com/&rnd=52217708)

[Kelly]

Molly's Law passes - News (http://media.www.easternprogress.com/media/storage/paper419/news/2007/03/29/News/Mollys.Law.Passes-2810306.shtml)

Molly's Law passes
Indiana bill will force police to investigate missing persons cases with greater urgency

Jenna Mink
Issue date: 3/29/07 Section: News

The disappearance of Eastern student Molly Dattilo has received attention from media across the nation. Molly's case is now making waves at the Indiana state Capitol.

Molly Dattilo's Law passed the Indiana senate Monday. The proposed law returns to the House for approval of the Senate's amendments. If passed by the House, Molly Dattilo's Law will be sent to the governor.

Molly Dattilo's Law will require Indiana's law enforcement to immediately investigate missing persons cases, said Keri Dattilo, Molly's cousin.

The law also sets specific procedures police must follow while investigating a missing persons case.

The Dattilo family began lobbying for the law in December 2005, more than a year after Molly disappeared from her brother's home in Indianapolis.

After the Dattilo family initially reported Molly's disappearance, it took about six weeks for the police to really start investigating the case. And, by then, a lot of the evidence was untraceable, Keri said.

"I think we would have had more information (if the police had initially investigated)," Keri said, "if not have Molly back now."

The police treated Molly's case as a runaway at first, Keri said.

An Eastern professor called the police station that was handling Molly's case and told officers that he had seen Molly walking around campus. And the police were determined to travel to Eastern and bring Molly home, Keri said.

"It's one nightmare that a loved one goes missing," Keri said. "It's another nightmare to fight with law enforcement to take it seriously."

So, the Dattilo family took matters into their own hands.

Keri, who worked with the FOX TV station at the time, even tried to get Molly's case on America's Most Wanted. But, when the producer called the Indianapolis police, the officers said Molly's case was not a top priority.

That was the last straw, Keri said.

Detectives were eventually assigned to Molly's case, but the Dattilo family continued to raise awareness of Molly's disappearance.

When Kelly Jolkowski, founder of ProjectJason.org, a non-profit foundation for missing persons, began campaigning for missing persons laws in other states, the Dattilo family "jumped on it," Keri said.

The family initially lobbied with five Indiana senators. The senator that spearheaded Molly Dattilo's Law thought it would stand a better chance in the House.

During the first court hearing, the Dattilos and other families of missing persons gave their testimonies.

"Now we're like a family," Keri said. "The family of the Indiana missing."

If passed, the law will go into effect July 1, five days before the third anniversary of Molly's disappearance.

"It will at least give us something good to think about," Keri said.

And, through the new law, one of Molly's wishes will be fulfilled, Keri added.

Keri sighted a line from Molly's diary: "I truly want to do something to better the world."

[Shadow205]

Sorry if this has already been posted.

A myspace for Molly Dattilo http://www.myspace.com/mollydattilo

[Bobbisangel]

I wonder how throughly LE questioned the guy that was last seen with Molly about 11:00 on the night she disappeared? It seems that they didn't really do anything on the case for weeks after Molly disappeared. Molly had had dinner with the guy...went for a boat ride and was last seen with him at a pay phone making a call to her girlfriend. When the girlfriend answered the phone was hung up or became disconnected. Molly was never heard from again. Now my eyes would be on that guy that she was last seen with. It doesn't sound like Molly was ever home after that.

I'm so glad that Molly's Law has passed through the senate and just needs the governer's sig which it is sure to get. That way LE has to get on it when an older person disappears instead of saying for weeks "she must have run away." God bless Molly's mom and sibs.

[gaia227]

Bumping for Molly.

This case has always bugged me. THe latest blog entry on MySpace was on Dec. 7th - they say that he(the guy she was last seen with, can't remember his name) has told police he has substantial information about Molly but that he is toying with them by saying one thing then another. How frustrating to think he may have the answers this family is seeking but won't tell.

[Tonia]

Shelton, who is currently incarcerated on unrelated charges, has offered the information about Dattilo in exchange for a plea bargain.

The family's website: http://www.dattilofamily.org/default.aspx

[PrayersForMaura]

plea bargain? Does not sound good :(

This case has always bothered me. I hope the family gets info on what happened to poor Molly!

[:+:MrTT:+:]

I live in Indianapolis, and i sent a message to there my space page.....im curious, if on that last phone call at 11pm on crawfisville road.......if they were able to determine, whom she was calling and what message was left, if left on a machine at all.......if i see, read, or hear about any developments, that doesnot jepordize the investigation, i will post.......i am interested in that area.....where she made that phone call........and being at that time of night..........i am hoping this one person of interest, whom looked for a plea deal, gave some kind of inforamti0on of her whereabouts etc......something to go on here.......that is what i also am hoping to find out........though, i doubt any of that information has been releassed......perhaps in time, the family will tell me something, so i can focus my attention there........

[Cilene]

John E. Shelton seems to be the only link LE has concerning the last person known to be with Molly. He is serving time for theft and is due to be released 02/28/2010.

The Dattilo family has done an excellent job in getting the message Molly's disappearance publized. I remember the billboards and flyers posted all over the west side on Indy. :clap: