INDIANA MISSING PERSONS LEGISLATION PASSES!

House Bill 1306, Indiana Missing Persons Legislation
(a/k/a "MOLLY'S LAW") PASSES!!

"Molly Dattilo’s Law" and the majority of it’s language was born almost 2 years ago, in April 2005, as Model Legislation at the first National Strategy Meeting identifying the Missing. At this conference, the National Criminal Justice Reference Service brought together Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement, medical examiners and coroners, victim's advocates, forensic scientists, key policymakers and families who have lived through this tragic experience to develop the baseline Missing Persons' Model Legislation. The Model was now ready for the next step.

ProjectJason.org, a not for profit Missing Persons organization, founded by Kelly Jolkowski, facilitated the next step and called for volunteers in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to retain a sponsor to support the Model Missing Persons' Legislation at the state level. Campaign for the Missing, a grassroots effort, was born and volunteers came forward from many states to take the Model Legislation, tailor it for their respective state, retain a sponsor, and forge it into law.

Over a year ago, Keri Dattilo, Nina Eaglin, and Karen Modisett, lobbied Indiana’s Congressmen for the Department of Justice’s Missing Persons Legislation on behalf of Molly. Molly has been missing for over 2 years and 7 months. The Marion County Sheriff’s Department, now the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, did not consider Molly’s case a high priority in the beginning and was very slow to investigate her case. The Dattilo family had to work hard to ensure her case was taken seriously. They do not want another family to have to go through what they did when Molly disappeared.

Representative Dave Cheatham, from North Vernon, sponsored the legislation in the House of Representatives. He was able to get the bill to pass the House, unanimously.

Senator Mike Young, District #35, Senator Connie Sipes, District #46, and 11 other Senators are sponsoring Indiana’s Missing Persons Legislation, They have taken on this critical issue and are working to better Indiana policies that pertain to missing persons.

March 26, 2007, 1:30 p.m., at the State House, the Senate will vote on the legislation, for the final time. The families of Molly Dattilo, Karen Jo Smith, Katherine Lola Fry, Wade Steffey, Scott Javins, Niqui McCown, Brad Hensley, Shannon Sherrill and the rest of Indiana’s families of the missing need support, in order get the changes necessary for law enforcement to be able to investigate each and every case to the fullest extent.

Also, after more than 2 months of searching for Wade Steffey, his family will be able to lay him to rest today in Bloomington. Dawn Adams and Dale Steffey, Wade’s parents, have been a tremendous force behind the legislation and our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Indiana's Missing Adults

Stanley Bray, Tyrone Bryant, Jeremiah Claypool, Russell Darling, Molly Dattilo, Samuel Dennis, Jennifer Engelbrecht, Lola Fry, Harold Hensley, Ardora Hogan, Francisco Huizar, Scott Javins, Brookley Louks, Marilyn McCown, Canderia Moreno, Mauro Munoz-Hernandez, Bradley Ross II, Karen Jo Smith, Garrison Smith, Walter Smith Jr., Daniel Standifer, Wade Steffey, John Taylor, Shannon Turner, Debra Wilhite, Brandy Wilson.

The key points of "Molly Dattilo’s Law" are as follows:

• A law enforcement agency shall accept without delay any report of a missing person and cannot refuse to accept such reports.
• Provides a detailed breakout of the specific information to be gathered and recorded by law enforcement about the missing person
• Improves the system of communication between law enforcement and the person making the report, a family member, or any other person in a position to assist law enforcement in locating the missing person, includes informing the person filing the missing persons report of the existence of two clearing houses for missing person's information. If the person reported missing is age 17 or under, the person filing the report shall be provided with contact information for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. If the person reported missing is age 18 or older, the person filing the report shall be provided with contact information for the National Center for Missing Adults.
• Law enforcement shall immediately determine if the missing person is deemed "high-risk”.
• Improve procedures for handling human remains and communication with the family.

"Molly Dattilo’s Law” strives to give hope to families of the missing and keeps the families actively engaged in helping to bring home their missing loved one.

Molly’s Activities

Molly was enrolled and planned to attend her fifth year at Eastern Kentucky University in the fall after just completing a four year running scholarship the previous school year. When she disappeared, she was living with her brother in Indianapolis, while taking summer classes at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). One of those classes was a voice class which was to help prepare her for an upcoming audition of American Idol. The weekend before she disappeared, she commented to her sister that she was preparing for that audition in August and that she planned to attend her nephew’s birthday party later in July. She also spoke of her desire to get a summer job in order to keep the car purchased by her father so that she had transportation to the American Idol auditions.

What we know about Tuesday, July 6th, 2004, the day Molly disappeared from Indianapolis:

• Molly attended classes that morning at IUPUI.
• Molly dropped only one of three classes at IUPUI, as this was the last day to drop classes without a penalty.
• A receipt dated July 6th was found in her car showing Molly had purchased supplies for classes and her own hobbies. The receipt also showed the purchase of a child’s toy which indicated her desire to attend her nephew’s birthday party as planned later that July.
• Molly left on foot to pick up an application from the Wendy’s restaurant located on 10th Street, towards the evening hours. Additional job applications were later found in Molly’s car.
• Molly returned to Westlake Apartments.
• All Molly’s personal items were left behind including her identification, money, ATM card, cell phone, clothes and her car.
• Molly routinely wore a lanyard around her neck with her apartment keys.
• 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.

Physical Description

Molly is 25 years old (23 at the time of her disappearance); she is Caucasian and has shoulder length light brown hair and green eyes. She weighs about a 100 pounds is about 5 feet tall. She has a dime sized birth mark on the upper outside of her right arm, just below the elbow. Also, the very tip of her left thumb and thumbnail were severed in a childhood accident. When the thumb healed, the thumbnail grew slightly down over the edge of the thumb giving the thumbnail a rounded off or hook-like appearance. It is noticeably deformed. She is athletic and has a wiry runner’s build. The birthmark and thumb are also visible on the poster.

Biography and Personality

Molly is the youngest of nine children. She was born in Madison, Indiana where she lived until attending college after her senior year of high school. She is a talented achiever and excels in academics, athletics and music. While in college, she earned exemplary grades; while in high school, she had great success in cross country and in track at both the local and state levels. Molly was known to talk to the participants from many of the other teams during state meets and would congratulate them at the finish line making her known in the running community throughout Indiana for her affable personality. Additionally, Molly is a talented singer and would often sing the National Anthem at the high school athletic events and had since engaged in singing karaoke in her spare time. She enjoyed talking on the phone with friends and family members on a regular basis.

Photographs of Molly, please see http://www.utahwisp.com/bdattilo/pictures.htm