www.justiceforchandra.com

[gozgals]

We remember Tracey Leigh Tetso who has been missing since March 7, 2005 when she was reported after she failed to show up at a Motley Crue Concert in Washington, DC, the night before.

Our thoughts go out to her and her family.

A vigil was held for her.

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Published March 03, 2007

Family to hold vigil for missing woman

Mother suspects foul play in disappearance
By LISA BEISEL, Staff Writer
It's been two years.

Two years since Cathy and Richard Gardner have seen their daughter.

Twenty-four months since Monika Barilla has seen her friend and co-worker.

Tomorrow, the family and friends of Tracey Leigh Tetso will commemorate the second anniversary of her disappearance with a vigil in Pasadena.

Ms. Tetso, 34, was reported missing March 7, 2005 after she failed to show up at a Motley Crue concert in Washington, D.C., the night before, Baltimore County police said.

Her mother, Mrs. Gardner, said the family suspects foul play in her daughter's disappearance.

"We all know that there's foul play involved," she said.

When a boy who had been missing for four years was found alive in Missouri, the family had some glimmer of hope of finding Ms. Tetso. But not for long.

"If she were alive, she definitely would have had contact," she said. "There's no way she would have walked away."

Ms. Tetso owned a house in Rosedale, cars, pets, had a good job and worked hard, her mother said. She wouldn't have left it all behind, her mother said.

"She just loved life. She worked hard, she liked to party, and she loved rock and roll - the louder the better," Mrs. Gardner said. "She was truly a good person inside."

Her daughter loved animals and had three pets, including one she picked up as a stray off the streets of Glen Burnie, her mother said. She was known for her loyalty to her friends and never forgot a birthday or anniversary.

Ms. Tetso worked in Crofton as a dispatcher for Aggregate Industries. She grew up in Pasadena and graduated from Northeast High School. She was 32-years-old when she disappeared and lived with her estranged husband.

Ms. Tetso and Dennis Tetso were married in September and were in the process of separating three months later, Mrs. Gardner said. Mr. Tetso couldn't be reached for comment.

Investigators have evidence the car went though Baltimore's Harbor Tunnel shortly before 8 p.m. March 6, but Mrs. Gardner said a closer look at the picture revealed Ms. Tetso was not driving the car.

On March 17, 11 days after her disappearance, Ms. Tetso's car was found in the parking lot of the Days Inn in the 6600 block of Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie.

Baltimore County police have not named a suspect and have no updates on the case at this point. The missing person investigation remains open, said Cpl. Michael Hill, department spokesman.

Mrs. Gardner believes the only way to get closure and possible charges against anyone involved in Ms. Tetso's disappearance would be to find her body.

"I know deep inside she's not alive," she said.

So, she and her husband and their friends look. They look on the side of the road by the Baltimore Beltway, they look wherever there is a tip submitted to their Web site, www.findtraceygardner.com.

Ms. Barilla, a friend and coworker of Ms. Tetso, is one of the people who takes part in the search.

Ms. Barilla keeps in touch with the Gardners almost daily to brainstorm about places to search and to get in touch with other missing person's families.

As the anniversary of her disappearance draws nearer, it's harder for the family to deal with the void Ms. Tetso left.

Tuesday, the anniversary of the last day anyone saw her, and her birthday on March 21, will be especially tough.

"We kind of blur it out, or we try to," Mrs. Gardner said. "We all know (the date), but none of us talk."

It's as if the calendar flips from March 20 to 22.

Ms. Barilla hopes the vigil will bring families and friends of missing persons together.

"It definitely helps when you hear other missing persons' stories, what their friends and family are going through. You can relate to it and support each other," she said. "I think if anything, it helps keep not just Tracey out there in the media and eyes of the public, but all the missing persons," Ms. Barilla said.

It's also a way to get their pictures and information out to the public again and "let people know we haven't given up on them, they need to be found," she said.

They've also invited elected officials in an effort to raise awareness about another project they'd like to start: a statewide task force for missing persons.

Right now, there's no statewide police database to track reports of people who go missing, Mrs. Gardner said. If a body is found in one jurisdiction, they have no way to search through other missing persons files.

There are several private Web sites, such as the Maryland Missing Persons Network and the National Missing Persons Web sites.

"You need a statewide database so everybody can plug into it," Mrs. Gardner said.

The vigil will be held at the Glen Burnie Moose Lodge, where Ms. Tetso had her wedding reception, from 2 to 4 p.m. tomorrow. At the end, 150 yellow balloons will be let go, each with a flier for a missing person attached.

Tracey Gardner Tetso is 5 feet 4 inches tall, about 130 pounds with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information on her disappearance is asked to call Baltimore County Police Department at 410-307-2020.



Published March 03, 2007, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2007 The Capital, Annapolis, Md

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/03_03-28/TOP

[rd]

Tracey's disappearance is such a tragedy, goz. All we can hope for now is that something of her is found.

This is a classic example along with others on our board of getting away with murder by not leaving a trail of blood.

So remembrance is all that is left now.

rd