Tenth annual Missing Persons Awareness event in Brown County

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - April is Missing Person Awareness Month. Every year in Wisconsin, new names are added to the missing persons list.

Some names have been on the list for more than 50 years.

This month, more than 200 people’s names will flash across the screen of a highway billboard because they are missing in Wisconsin.

“These boards are seen by a lot of people, providing a lot of hope to these families,” said Marsha Loritz.

Hope to families who still waiting for answers about their loved ones’ disappearance.

Marsha Loritz is among them. Her mother, Victoria Prokopovitz, has been missing since 2013. While there’s a conviction in the case, her mother’s body has never been found. Loritz is also President of Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy, Inc.

“You just have such empathy for them because you were there you understand what they’re going through and their desperation. And all you can do is offer them some hope and support and some information that maybe we didn’t have in that situation,” said Loritz.

Loritz didn’t know where to turn or what resources were available to help. She turned her grief and experience into action. She created a non-profit called Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy.

Now all of those resources will be in one spot this weekend, for the 10th Annual Missing Person Awareness Event.

“Just suggestions of what to do, what not to do. It’s such a hard thing because you are so desperate for answers and so you don’t know where to turn and you don’t know what you should be doing. So the simple information of that, you know, search and rescue isn’t something you should pay for that it’s free, and things like that, you know, and you end up in a situation where you’re a target to be, you know, taken advantage of,” said Loritz.

The free event will also include a moment of silence for the missing, search and rescue dog demos, balloon twisting, and a silent auction.

Awareness brings prevention and so this is not just for people with missing persons. This is to have, you know, information for the community to receive. You know, you never know if you’re going to find yourself in a situation where someone you know needs these resources. And as I said some of these resources are just not just missing persons but things that would keep your loved ones safe,” said Loritz.

The event is this Saturday at the Brown County Sheriff’s Office from 1-4 p.m.

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