Billboards bring awareness to missing people

Wis. (WBAY) - A local non-profit is on a mission to shed light on the unseen during Wisconsin’s Missing Persons Month by displaying billboards.

During the month of April, the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy and Crime Stoppers are reminding the public that just because someone is out of sight, doesn’t mean they’re out of mind.

“If we can support one family and keep them from suffering the loneliness and the isolation that we felt, then we’ve done a good job,” Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy Founder Marsha Loritz said.

Loritz said volunteers raised money all year to display 16 billboards across five counties.

The billboards list the names of those missing in that community. Organizers hope the high visibility allows the billboards to reach one person who knows something important.

“Our hope is that these billboards will bring people home. If it brings one person home, it will be worth all the fundraising we’ve done.”

For Loritz, the mission is personal.

Her mother, Victoria Prokopovitz, disappeared in April of 2013. She’s never been found.

Today, the Wisconsin missing persons database lists 230 names.

If you know of someone’s whereabouts, Loritz urges you to reach out to your local Crime Stoppers and call the police.

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