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It’s been more than 25 years since the disappearance of Rose Marie Gayhart, but her sisters, Laurie Travis and Brenda Avery, haven’t given up hope.
Both women travelled to Wilson Academy in Rochester on Jan. 28 to attend Community Cry for Help Missing Persons Awareness Day.
The forum was hosted by the family of 22-year-old Alonzo Williams of Rochester, who disappeared Nov. 22.
“I’ve been fighting, fighting hard,” Travis said about searching for her missing sister. “And I’m not giving up.”
They, as well as several other families, set up tables and booths with information on their missing loved ones. The two also brought along information on the still-unsolved Jane Doe found in Caledonia in 1979, and were given the opportunity to speak publicly about their missing sister and their search.
The sisters estimated about 100 people attended the forum in all.
While Travis has been involved in searching for her sister since 1995, the forum has helped Avery commit to finding their sister. “I didn’t know there was a lot more help,” she said. “It does get emotional.”
Gayhart was last seen in Cape Coral, Fla., on March 14, 1985. Her belongings were found behind the Cape Coral Police Department, and according to a news report at the time, was last seen getting into a pickup truck with an unidentified man after finishing her shift at a local restaurant.
According to the news report, she was not getting along with her boyfriend at the time.
Although she went missing in Florida, the investigation has been headed by Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.
Ten years after her disappearance, Travis and Avery visited the sheriff’s office to check up on the case. To their disappointment, no progress had been made.
Travis then decided she should involve herself in the search.
“I’ve been fighting since, big time fighting. And I am not giving up until I find some kind of closure,” she said.
The recent forum in Rochester has helped Travis and Avery find resources and networks in the South that can help them spread the news of her disappearance.
Travis said the forum “put a lot of stuff in my head and made me really realize that I had the ability to go out there and push things a little further.”
The two would like to conduct a similar forum in Livingston County.
On a related note, Travis and Avery made contact with Gayhart’s son last spring, who was adopted and grew up in western New York. He now lives in Perry, and came across members of his biological family through his own research.
Avery and Travis have another sister, Cheryl Towner, who lives in Dansville. Gayhart was the second oldest of the four siblings.
It’s been more than 25 years since the disappearance of Rose Marie Gayhart, but her sisters, Laurie Travis and Brenda Avery, haven’t given up hope.
Both women travelled to Wilson Academy in Rochester on Jan. 28 to attend Community Cry for Help Missing Persons Awareness Day.
The forum was hosted by the family of 22-year-old Alonzo Williams of Rochester, who disappeared Nov. 22.
“I’ve been fighting, fighting hard,” Travis said about searching for her missing sister. “And I’m not giving up.”
They, as well as several other families, set up tables and booths with information on their missing loved ones. The two also brought along information on the still-unsolved Jane Doe found in Caledonia in 1979, and were given the opportunity to speak publicly about their missing sister and their search.
The sisters estimated about 100 people attended the forum in all.
While Travis has been involved in searching for her sister since 1995, the forum has helped Avery commit to finding their sister. “I didn’t know there was a lot more help,” she said. “It does get emotional.”
Gayhart was last seen in Cape Coral, Fla., on March 14, 1985. Her belongings were found behind the Cape Coral Police Department, and according to a news report at the time, was last seen getting into a pickup truck with an unidentified man after finishing her shift at a local restaurant.
According to the news report, she was not getting along with her boyfriend at the time.
Although she went missing in Florida, the investigation has been headed by Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.
Ten years after her disappearance, Travis and Avery visited the sheriff’s office to check up on the case. To their disappointment, no progress had been made.
Travis then decided she should involve herself in the search.
“I’ve been fighting since, big time fighting. And I am not giving up until I find some kind of closure,” she said.
The recent forum in Rochester has helped Travis and Avery find resources and networks in the South that can help them spread the news of her disappearance.
Travis said the forum “put a lot of stuff in my head and made me really realize that I had the ability to go out there and push things a little further.”
The two would like to conduct a similar forum in Livingston County.
On a related note, Travis and Avery made contact with Gayhart’s son last spring, who was adopted and grew up in western New York. He now lives in Perry, and came across members of his biological family through his own research.
Avery and Travis have another sister, Cheryl Towner, who lives in Dansville. Gayhart was the second oldest of the four siblings.
