Published: April 04, 2008 10:26 pm      

Candlelight vigil to honor, remember those missing

CLINTON — Family and friends of missing teen Ben Roseland are holding a candlelight vigil tonight to pray for his safe return and remember missing persons across the country. Community members are welcome at the event, and organizers encourage anyone with a missing loved one to attend.

The event will be held at 7 p.m. in Clinton Park, located at the corner of Third Avenue South and Third Street.

The vigil is being held as a preview to the April 6 Missing Persons Day in New York state, which was created in 2001 in remembrance of the birthday of Suzanne Lyall, the University of Alabama student who disappeared 10 years ago. Suzanne’s parents, Doug and Mary Lyall, are working to get April 6 declared as National Missing Persons Day to not only memorialize their daughter, but to raise the nation's awareness of missing people, provide hope to their families, and recognize the efforts of law enforcement.

May 25 was established as National Missing Children's Day in 1983, but a day has not yet been set aside to remember those Americans who are over the age of 18 and missing from their loved ones.

The Lyalls also helped to establish the 2003 amendment to the Amber Alert bill, called Suzanne's Law, which prohibits law enforcement agencies from imposing a waiting period before accepting reports of missing persons between the ages of 18 and 21.

Organizers of the vigil urge anyone with a missing loved one to attend tonight's event and bring a photo or flyer to share. Mayor Rodger Holm will be on hand to welcome those in attendance, and Father Richard Okumu of the Church of the Visitation in Camanche will lead the group in prayer.

Pastor Debby Manion, of Clinton Community Christian Church, will give a reading from the Bible, and a friend of the Roseland family, Pam Drury, will lead the group in song. Roseland’s sister, Audra, will deliver the closing statement. Candles will be provided, but participants may bring their own.

Organizers wish to thank those who helped make the vigil possible, including Clinton Chapel Snell-Zornig Funeral Home and Crematory, Ruhl & Ruhl Realty and Clinton-Wilbert Vaults Inc., and hope the event will help honor the spirit of those who are missing.

“We’re hoping to use this event to inspire hope and bring the community together,” said Julie Connell, Roseland’s aunt and an organizer of the vigil. “And we just want to make everyone aware that he is still missing, and we are still looking.”

Roseland, 19, has been missing since Feb. 9, when he was last seen by friends after leaving a house in the 400 block of 10th Avenue South headed to Hy-Vee. He is described by officials as a white male, standing 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 175 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Clinton Police Department at 243-1458.