Queens Missing Persons Day Aims to Solve Dozens of Cold Cases

Queens Missing Persons Day Initiative

• 📌 For the first time, Queens County has launched a Missing Persons Day event to help reunite families with loved ones who have been missing for years.
• 🤝 The event is a collaborative effort involving the Queens District Attorney's office, the medical examiner, the NYPD, and other investigating agencies.

Family's Search for Alan Foster

• 💔 Loren Townsen and Jackie Pennington shared their story of searching for their cousin, Alan Foster, who has been missing for 20 years.
• 📝 They provided information to the medical examiner's office, submitted a DNA sample, and filed a missing person's report, noting that a report may not have been initially filed by authorities.
• 💬 Describing Alan as "very lively, very vivacious, very charismatic," they hope for closure, whether he is found alive or not.

Utilizing DNA and Databases

• 🔬 The city's chief medical examiner highlighted that similar events have been hosted in other boroughs, with Queens being the first to host this specific initiative.
• 💻 DNA samples collected at the event will be entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and compared against databases nationwide.
• 🔍 The Queens District Attorney stated that over 47 homicides in the borough involve unidentified victims, and this initiative aims to identify them for family closure.

The Importance of Closure

• 🎗️ Pennington emphasized that "the not knowing is what's really hard", expressing a desire for any answer, whether it's reconnecting with Alan or confirming his fate.
• 📰 Alice Gainer, who covers cold cases for CBS News New York, reported on the event and family stories.