Editorial: Congress has wasted too much time passing ‘Billy’s Law’

Jan and Bill Smolinski of Cheshire are still looking for answers in the disappearance of their son, Billy, who has been missing since 2004. Jan and Bill Smolinski of Cheshire are still looking for answers in the disappearance of their son, Billy, who has been missing since 2004. Photo: Peter Casolino — New Haven Register File Photo Photo: Peter Casolino — New Haven Register File Photo Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Editorial: Congress has wasted too much time passing ‘Billy’s Law’ 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Evelyn Frisco, Doreen Vincent, Barbara Jean Monaco and William Smolinski Jr. share a common bond: More than 10 years ago, all of them went missing and no one has heard from them since.

They are just a few of 167 children and adults in Connecticut currently classified as missing by the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. They disappeared from all areas of the state — from New Haven to Wallingford to Derby; from Bridgeport to Stonington and from Bristol to Norwich.

Nationwide, nearly 84,000 individuals are considered missing, with more than 33,000 of them under the age of 18.

Some may have simply walked away from their current life; some are teens considered endangered runaways; some are women and children who law enforcement believes were kidnapped and perhaps forced into sex trafficking rings; and still others, many of them children, may have met with foul play.

For many families and loved ones, years are spent in frustration and uncertainty about the disappearances.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a longtime champion for families of missing persons, thinks he has a way to help. The Connecticut Democrat believes that more lives can saved and more people found if the state and the nation had a more efficient system that connects various agencies with crucial and time-saving information. Murphy is calling for an immediate vote on his proposed “Billy’s Law” after a recent report by the Government Accountability Office found that law enforcement could more efficiently investigate missing persons cases if resources were shared. The bill has been introduced in the Senate and the House and is in committees in both chambers.

“Billy’s Law” was inspired by the disappearance of Smolinski, a Waterbury resident who vanished in 2004 when he was 31. His family struggled to get the right information to law enforcement about his identifying characteristics. The Smolinskis discovered long after the search for their son had begun that law enforcement had the wrong dental records for him.

There are two databases for missing persons and unidentified remains — the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and the National Crime Information Center database — but they are not linked and cannot be cross-searched, which stifles investigations.

This is the fourth time “Billy’s Law” has been before Congress and there doesn’t seem to be rhyme or reason why lawmakers have allowed it to languish.

To find and track missing people, law enforcement must string together bits and pieces of information. Murphy’s proposal closes a crucial gap and potentially pivots the odds toward a more favorable outcome.

But as is the case when a child or person goes missing, time is a factor. Congress has already wasted too much of it getting this one in the books.