NY NY - Suzanne Lyall, 19, Collins Circle at SUNY, Albany, 2 March 1998

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Gosh, this case is another heartbreaker. I have been pining away for years trying to figure out what an abductor could have done with her. But just like many other cases, it's like a needle in a haystack. If someone really did put her in a dumpster, for example, I guess there's no hope we'll ever find her. Then again, her body could be in a shallow grave in the woods or in a river or just about anywhere. So sad, and so frustrating...:(
 
Gee, I cannot believe it has been 12 years. I remember this case so well. We used to go to Babbage's (the computer software store in Crossgates Mall) and went in the week after she'd disappeared and saw the posters all over. It seemed impossible. It is such a sad story.
 
lyall.jpg

Suzanne Gloria Lyall

Endangered Missing -- Missing Since: March 2, 1998

Missing From: Albany, New York

Height: 5'3" -- Weight: 165 lbs -- Hair Color: Brown -- Eye Color: Blue

Suzanne's nickname is Suzy. She has a mole on her left cheek, moles on her arms, and a mole on her back. She also has pierced ears and a scar on her left foot.


On the evening of March 2, 1998, Suzanne left from her job at a local mall to walk to the bus stop. She is believed to have boarded the bus and was last seen around 9:45 p.m. getting off the bus at Collins Circle in the center of the SUNY-Albany uptown campus heading towards her dorm room. She never arrived at her dorm room and has not been heard from since.


NCMEC

Charley Project

FBI
 
Kids turn out to support missing kids

By the whooping of the hundreds of A.W. Becker kids lined up outside the school’s entrance Friday you would have thought Miley Cyrus was on the way.

But what had the kids cheering was the third annual Greater Capital District Ride for Missing Children bike caravan snaking southward down Rte. 9W and onto the school grounds.

[snip]

Several family members of missing persons from the area also joined the ride, accompanying the cyclists in a limousine.

Mary Lyall, mother of Suzanne Lyall, wore a badge with a picture of her missing daughter on her shirt.

“Suzanne was a 19-year-old SUNY Albany student when she went missing in 1998,” she said.

She and her husband, Doug, founded the Center for Hope in Suzanne’s memory.

Located in Ballston Spa, the organization has been instrumental in advocating for missing persons including building the “NYS Missing Persons Remembrance”, which stands in Albany’s Empire State Plaza.

The monument features an eternal flame with the words, "As a symbol of our eternal hope may this flame light their way home” engraved on the granite base.

http://www.thedailymail.net/articles/2010/09/30/ravena_news/news/doc4ca0a63fb33db934778490.txt
 
Missing, never forgotten

The 10th annual New York State Missing Persons Day was an opportunity to remember those who are missing and to find new strength to push ahead.

[snip]

April 6 is the official state Missing Persons Day. It's also the birthday of Suzanne Lyall, who disappeared March 2, 1998, when she was last seen exiting a CDTA bus at the state University at Albany campus after finishing work at Crossgates Mall.

Doug and Mary Lyall of Milton have worked tirelessly to help others with missing relatives. Suzanne would now be 33 years old.
 
This case will be featured tonight on the ID channel's show Disappeared.
 
Saw the show tonight on Suzy. Her mom and dad broke my heart. I want so badly for them to have "closure" and to be able to bring Suzy home. I find it really odd that LE were able to obtain security footage from the store where her card was used the day after she was reported missing, but not from the machine itself. Did it not have that capability? It seems like the best lead they have. Someone used her debit card the day after she was last seen, AND entered her pin number correctly the FIRST time. Was it someone who knew her, whom she had given the pin to, like her boyfriend? Or was it Suzy herself? Or was her abductor able to coerce the pin from her? But, then why only take out $20 or the balance of (approx.) $120??

It appeared in the show that her parents, at least her mom, are leaning toward the boyfriend. But, I am not so sure. College girl out alone at night is at risk. It is unfortunate, but true.

I kept thinking while watching the show, that Suzy would have loved all the new technology in the past 14 years. She was a computer science major and mom-described "geek" (in a really good way!). She probably would have been able to contribute greatly to the advances too, if her life had not been cut short. Horrible. I would love to hear that she chose to disappear and start a new life somewhere, but after all this time and the circumstances of this case, I think that is incredibly unlikely.

Prayers to the family and to Suzy, wherever she may be.
 
I saw the show tonight. I was a freshman at SUNY Albany when she went missing. I remember the police going into the bars with fliers looking for her, we thought they were raiding the bars for fake ID's.
Have they ever re-interviewed the guy with the hat?
 
I just found this.... heartbreaking...

A Letter To Suzanne's Abductor

To the person who took Suzanne

I often wonder whether March 2 means anything to you. Do you remember the 19-year old young woman that you took from us? Do you still have her with you? It has been nearly a year since she vanished, but she is just as loved and dearly missed. Do you know the person you took? Suzy is our third child and was born on April 6, 1978. I had the great privilege of witnessing her birth, an event that was one of the most memorable of my life. Her older brother and sister became very attached to her and during her younger years were almost a second set of parents. She is a very creative person and is inspired to write poetry that seems to flow in from outside of herself. She is a shy but a friendly person whose warm smile and an easy manner can cut through others sadness and put those around her at ease. Her sense of fairness and loyalty to her friends are well appreciated by those who know her well. You took away a wonderful person. Someone who probably would have stood up for you if things weren't fair. Did no one do nice things for you? I have found some comfort in picturing you not as a mean ugly bad person, but someone's child.... someone deserving and needing love and acceptance who possibly misunderstood Suzy's friendship as a romantic interest. If love wasn't shared in your family, I'm sorry. Every person is entitled to the love and caring that family and friends provide. If you still have Suzy, I wish for something good to happen to you, a success that makes you feel satisfied and positive about yourself. Hopefully then you will treat her well. I hope you have peaceful moments when you can walk in the woods or through the fields, content, not miserable and vindictive. I have a hard time getting through anniversary dates. Still not knowing where Suzy is, I continue to talk to her and ask for answers about her from my dreams. Birthdays, holidays, semesters breaks, but especially now. Where are you Suzy? What next? I pray for Suzy and for my ability to let go of anger toward you. If only I could talk to you. I'm not sure what I would say, although after so much time, surprisingly, I don't hate you. I know nothing about you. I wonder if you were ever like Suzy. Did you love homemade chocolate chip cookies? Did you go to RUSH concerts? Did you play jokes on April Fools day? Did you spend time on the computer, oblivious to anything else going on around you? Suzy is more than a girl on a poster. Her mom and dad, Steve and Sandy miss her daily. She has dreams, and hopes and potential. I still have positive dreams. For my own survival, I have had to let go of anger or I would be consumed by it. But the questions persist. I pray that God will smile down on us all this year and bring us some peace. All I'm asking for is your response; a call to allow me and all the people whose lives Suzy touched to find peace and a sense of calm that disappeared on that night in March. The peace that can't return until the questions surrounding Suzy's disappearance are answered. You have held the answers for so long. You also hold the pain. Please talk to me. Douglas Lyall Ballston Spa, New York
Click to expand...

http://www.hope4themissing.org/cfh/page.php?19
 
Just watched the episode of Disappeared about Suzy. Her boyfriend raised red flags for me. He was able to control her computer remotely, and he said that himself and Suzy were the only ones with her ATM pin number. Sounds a little on the controlling side. Also very strange that he hired a lawyer and refused to speak with LE anymore. Why do that, if you have nothing to hide?? He sounds very fishy, IMO.
 
krey, when was the Disappeared episode on and was it part of the new season? I've always been intrigued by this case because it's from my hometown. Would be interesting to see if there was any new info in that show that I didn't already know.
 
I researched this a few years ago and concluded that it was probably not a stranger abduction.

The place where the name tag was found was (suggesting the abduction site) exposed to a lot of foot traffic at 9:30 at night. Very high risk.

Stranger abductors rarely conceal their victim"s body; it's a lot of work (particularly if the victim weighs 171LBS).

The only reason I can see for using a ATM to make a small transaction the next day (as opposed to looting the account) is to create the impression that the victim was alive and well at that time.

As I recall, the initial suspect was a Black guy who was in the store around the time the ATM was used. Apparently he held up rather well to intense questioning and there was nothing else to tie him to the crime.

Once that guy was more or less ruled out, attention focused on the boy friend. He denied everything and no evicence was found against him. I got the impression the family suspects him.

The boyfriend apparently knew the victim's PIN, which I found " odd"; just how many college boy/girl friends use each others debit card? I suspect he was the controling type.

Overall, I think the failure of the investigation was the result of tunnel vision. The ATM was located in a conveinience store near campus. There was no video or camera. The withdrawal occurred around 4:00 PM when there must have been many people in and out around that time; mostly young white student types.

The next day, when the clerk was interviewed, the customer he could remember, that the police comsidered "suspicious" was an older black guy. It is not clear why he was singled out over anyone else except "racial profiling". A composite was made and a publicized an all effort was directed at finding him. When he turned several days later, a lot of time had been lost.





E

T of
 
Lysssie said:
krey, when was the Disappeared episode on and was it part of the new season? I've always been intrigued by this case because it's from my hometown. Would be interesting to see if there was any new info in that show that I didn't already know.
Click to expand...

Hi, Lysssie! I'm not krey, but I do remember that it aired last year. It looks like from this article (towards the bottom of the page) it was 03/26/12:

Investigation Discovery's Disappeared to air Suzanne Lyall disappearance on 3/26/2012

There are usually a few people that post the episodes on YouTube shortly after they air, but I'm having problems finding a link on there that still works for that particular episode right now after a quick search. :( I'll post one of I find one!
 
I also think the boyfriend is questionable...does anyone know what happened with the other college student who vanished before Suzy?
 
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