AUGUSTA, Maine - A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is once again calling for the creation of a special cold case unit in the Maine Attorney General's office.
Members of the roughly 120 Maine families who've lost loved ones to unsolved murders joined lawmakers at a State House press conference Thursday, shortly before a Judiciary Committee hearing on a bill to fund a three-man cold case squad.
Ramona Torres called on lawmakers to pass the measure. Police believe Torres's son, who disappeared nearly 16 years ago and has never been found, was the victim of foul play.
"And as much as we try to go on for the last fifteen-and-a-half years, there's a cloud over us and it's so painful," Torres told lawmakers. "Please! Please pass LD 1121. We've too many murderers walking around. We don't have any justice."
Trista Reynolds also spoke out in support of the bill. Reynolds's toddler-aged daughter, Ayla, disappeared in December 2011 from the home where her father was staying and is presumed dead.
