Updated 03/02/2013 06:00 PM
Searching for Suzy 15 years later
Suzanne Lyall's disappearance on March 2, 1998 is a story that's sadly known by many people in the Capital Region. Her parents Doug and Mary never gave up believing that someday, somehow, Suzy would come home. Our Karen Tararache met with them to learn that "hope" is more than just a four letter word.
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BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. -- Doug Lyall remembering his daughter, said, "She didn't like to draw a lot of attention to herself."
But that's exactly what Doug and Mary Lyall did, draw a lot of attention to where their missing daughter could be.
"We started in 1999 working on Suzanne's Law. That's the campus safety law which is the first one we passed in New York State as a state law and now it's a federal law," Mary explained.
Suzanne Lyall was last seen getting off of a CDTA bus in Albany when she disappeared without a trace 15 years ago.
"Because we don't know what happened to her, we still have that little bit of hope that she might be out there," Doug added.
As the years passed, the Lyalls found that through Suzy they could help other families who were in the same situation.
"Waiting around for answers about Suzanne's disappearance, if that's all we we're doing, that would not be really not healthy at all. At least if we can try to help some other people, it's something we have some control over."
It's inside this old chocolate factory in Ballston Spa where the "Center for Hope" exists. Doug and Mary hope that it will provide other families, that are searching for loved ones, a way to come together.
Mary said that, "Being with other families and being able to talk to them and give them a hug or whatever they need is kind of energizing for us, knowing that we've helped another person."
And until Suzy comes back to them, one way or another, Mary added that they'd never stop hoping.
"When we come home from anywhere we've been I still think she'll be waiting there on the front porch," said Mary.