We held a press conference today and a couple of TV stations and a few print reporters came (that doesn't mean we actually get on TV) ... Detective Rosenberger from the Manhattan Police Department, Nancy's parents Joan and George, and Nancy's great friend Nancy Ward were also there for support and interviews.
Megan Barnes has already published her article:
https://www.dailybreeze.com/2018/10/15/two-years-after-disappearance-reward-increased-to-100000-for-return-of-manhattan-beach-woman-nancy-paulikas/
And Jason Kandel from NBC also posted:
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Nancy-Paulikas-missing-woman-manhattan-beach-two-years-help-497641091.html
Finally, this is what I said at the press conference.
One of the most common things people say to me is "I
can't imagine what you and Nancy's parents are going through." It is
something that I would have said to a friend in similar circumstances but,
having lived every minute of the last two years, I can say that the uncertainty
and the void created by Nancy's disappearance is beyond anything that mere
words can describe. Nancy's father George has captured a bit of what we
experience when he says "Every morning I get up thinking that today--this
day--is going to be the day that we find Nancy. And then the day passes
and my hopes sink, but we are not giving up”. We love Nancy dearly and we just want her back.
I also get asked, “Do you still have any hope?” and my
answer to that is that we must still have hope because we continue to look for
her. Nancy’s
mother says “The not knowing what has happened to my daughter, where she is,
who is caring for her is a weight that is almost unbearable some days”. Despite tremendous
effort, we haven’t received any fruitful clues as to Nancy’s whereabouts. We are hoping that by increasing the reward
to $100,000, we may spur people to be even more vigilant or we might get the
attention of someone who has encountered Nancy.
The police are continuing to work this case and are
finishing up a collaborative task with Medi-Cal of checking into applications
that were submitted for people matching Nancy’s general demographic. The police and the coroner believe that Nancy
is still alive. They feel it is unlikely
that her remains would not have been discovered and identified with the DNA and
dental records we have provided. If,
however, the unthinkable has happened, we would like to make it clear that the reward applies even if someone knows
the location of her remains.
Our team continues to call and care facilities – all of
which have been contacted before. It is
surprising how short the corporate memory often is – places that we contacted
just months ago do not remember hearing about Nancy.
We continue to receive good media coverage, and we thank you
all for that. In addition, Thiago Dadalt
is working on a documentary called “Where is Nancy?” He is in the production stage and is looking
for some funding to finish the film. If
you would like to support his efforts, there is a crowd funding initiative you
can see by searching on “Where is Nancy?”
We would also like to encourage everyone in LA County who
knows someone with dementia to check out LA Found. This is an initiative inspired by Nancy’s
situation that Supervisor Janice Hahn has championed to provide tracking
bracelets and the infrastructure needed for them to be effective. There are other activities as well intended to
both reduce the incidence of wandering and help find those if they do wander. If these practices had existed two years ago,
we might not need to be here today. We
hope that these efforts can prevent any other family having to go through what
we have experienced.
For those asking what they can do to help, we continue to
ask that, even if you haven’t encountered Nancy, please continue to share her
story on social media. If you see something
that might relate to Nancy, say something.
Your efforts might reach the one person who can help unlock this
nightmarish mystery.
