The initiator of Houston Missing Persons Day will speak on Saturday about the event, which is taking place for the seventh time. She also talks about her missing daughter, who disappeared 14 years ago when she was 16.
HOUSTON (KIAH) Jo Ann Lowitzer will never forget April 26, 2010.
That day her daughter Alexandria “Ali” Lowitzer disappeared.
Three people saw her get off the school bus in her neighborhood and walk to work in the spring – but no one has seen her since.
“We assume that someone kidnapped her,” Lowitzer said.
Seven years ago, Lowitzer created Houston Missing Persons Day with the help of the Texas Center for the Missing.
She invites families with missing loved ones to come to this year's event on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Child Assessment Center in Rice Village, where they can tell their stories in front of other families – but perhaps more importantly, news cameras.
“Families who don’t get much media coverage and who feel like they aren’t seen or heard have the opportunity to say what they want, in the way they want,” said Lowitzer.
She hopes that by bringing attention to the many missing person cases in the Houston area, people can come forward with information and some of the cases can be solved.
Nearly 14 years have passed since Lowitzer saw Ali, but she has a message for her that is likely similar to what other families of missing persons will share at Saturday's event.
“I would tell her that I know she would come home if she could and that we still love her no matter what,” Lowitzer said. “We hope she's still alive, and if she can see this, we just know she's still loved. And just fight. Just keep fighting to get home.”
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