21 hours ago
Families of missing people come together in Pittsburgh to learn more about available resources
For the past three years, the Pennsylvania Missing Persons Foundation has held a special event in an effort to get people back home.
Saturday was Missing Persons Awareness Day.
It's a day that puts the missing people back into the eyes of the public and highlights the resources that are available to everyone to help find them.
Speakers from the FBI shared important spoke about trafficking, child safety and domestic abuse. Families of four missing people from Western Pennsylvania also shared their stories.
Cherrie Mahan's family was in attendance. She went missing from Butler County in 1985 after getting off the school bus.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> 11 Investigates: Mother of Butler County girl who vanished 40 years ago renews efforts to find her
Members of the foundation say a lot of people do not know that when someone goes missing, time is of the essence.
Ruth Brannigan's childhood friend, Mary Ann Verdecchia, was 10 years old when she went missing in 1962.
'There is no federal law or state law that says you need to wait 24 to 48 hours. You report people when you find that they're missing,' Brannigan said.
Verdecchia's disappearance was one of the reasons the Pennsylvania Missing Persons Foundation was started.
Click here to learn more about the Pennsylvania Missing Persons Foundation.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
