Saturday, June 16, 2007

Ashley Martinez: Included in On the Road to Remember 2007, other news

The On the Road to Remember Tour is held by the CUE (Community United Effort) Center, a non-profit missing persons organization based in North Carolina. It stops in various locations in several states and holds rallies to gain attention for local missing people who have become "cold cases".

This year their schedule included a stop at the Krug swimming pool in St. Joseph, Missouri, on June 14. Ashley Martinez, then 15 years old, was last seen there on July 6, 2004. She is believed to have run away with a 32-year-old convicted felon named Christopher Hart. He was arrested in Olympia, Washington, on September 4, 2004, but Ashley was not with him. He had been promising to take her to California, or she may be in Nebraska or Kansas City, Missouri. The car they were supposedly traveling in, a stolen grey 1995 Pontiac Bonneville with Missouri license plate 377MPY, has also not been found.
Ashley has bipolar disorder and may engage in dangerous behavior when she does not have her medication. She also has asthma. She did not bring along her medicine or any of her personal belongings. Therefore, she is rightly classified as "endangered".
Update: Article mentioning rally from http://stjoechannel.com/content/fulltext/?cid=12356:
National Spotlight Shines on Missing People in the Area

Reported by: Patty Santos
Thursday, Jun 14, 2007 @10:30pm
A
national spotlight shines on missing people in the Midland Empire. The 4th
Annual Missing Persons Tour made a stop in two area towns. Word of Branson
Perry's disappearance will reach 11 states by the end of June, giving his family
another glimpse of hope that the 26-year-old will soon be found.
"It's an awesome feeling, it makes you feel like there is hope, that there
are people that really do care," Becky Klino, mother, said.
Monica Caison is leading the "On the Road to Remember" tour spreading the
word and pictures of 75 missing adults across 5,100 miles.
"A lot of these cases that we are featuring, are cases that have gone cold,
because they weren't promoted properly at the beginning, of they just didn't
have enough information to go on," Caison said.
For the remaining 2,400 miles the van will attract the attention of many
people in small and big communities. They also want to grab some media
attention.
"It's important that we get the press involved, and get Perry's name out,"
Ben Espey, Nodaway County Sheriff, said. "We're still looking for clues and
leads that we can follow up on."
Branson's mother said it's vital to keep these cases front and center. So
far the group has helped bring in several new leads in other cases. Every
opportunity to get Branson's name to one more person could mean one more
clue.
"You feel like you're very alone and with organizations like this, you feel
like you are embraced with a lot of love, a lot of support and it gives you
strength," Klino said.
"We don't have a reason or rhyme or why, we're here for them and its just
one more piece that it gives them to get through another day," Caison
said.
The tour is sponsored by the community uniter effort organization. The tour
features mostly missing adults, whom they said are often left by the wayside.
The group also stopped by Krug Pool to feature Ashley Martinez. Her family
has been searching for her since she disappeared from this same area three years
ago. The runaway would now be 18 years old.
Her mother said having the community united effort feature her daughter's
story in 11 states could lead to her where abouts. Martinez's family and friends
gathered at the park wearing pins with her picture on it.
They said they're not giving up hope on finding her. For more information
on the tour log on to www.ncmissingpersons.org .


Ashley's mother was recently interviewed for Project Jason's missing people podcast. You can listen to it by clicking on the following links: http://www.lumospub.com/images/Ashley_Martinez_Item_3a_missingpeoplepodcast.com.mp3 , http://www.lumospub.com/images/Ashley_Martinez_Item_3b_missingpeoplepodcast.com.mp3 and http://www.lumospub.com/images/Ashley_Martinez_Item_3c_missingpeoplepodcast.com.mp3.

Ashley was also scheduled be featured on the Missing radio program yesterday (June 15).

If you have any information about the disappearance of Ashley Renee Martinez, please call the Saint Joseph Police Department at (816) 271-4777 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

You can print a poster of Ashley here.
Ashley's website: http://www.findashleymartinez.com/
Ashley's guestbook: http://www.findashleymartinez.com/ashleygb
Additional information at http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/martinez_ashley.html.

You can "adopt" Ashley through Project Jason's Adopt a Missing Person program. For more information, visit http://www.projectjason.org/adopt.html.

For more information about the "Road to Remember Tour", including a schedule of stops, visit http://angelsthatcare.blogspot.com/2007/06/on-road-to-remember.html.

Photo and age progression of Ashley from the Charley Project.

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