Jeanette Patton of Milford, holds a photograph of her sister, Elizabeth Kovalik, who has been missing since November, 1987. Milford Police are still working on the case. Peter Casolino/New Haven Register 01/17/12

By Brian McCready

Milford Bureau Chief

MILFORD — Jeanette Patton, 48, will never forget the day she brought her nephew to kindergarten for his first day of school.

There were numerous proud parents snapping pictures of their children, and while the day should have been joyous, it evoked profound sadness for Patton. All she could think was that it should have been her sister, Elizabeth Kovalik, with the boy, her son, and not Patton.

Patton will also never forget Nov. 13, 1987. That’s the date Kovalik, who was 28 years old, went missing from Milford.

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Doreen Vincent at age 8.

By Ann DeMatteo
Assistant Metro Editor
Doreen Vincent disappeared from her father’s house in Wallingford June 15, 1988, never to be seen or heard from again.
With no body and no evidence, police can’t say for certain who may have been responsible for the 12-year-old’s disappearance.
On the night she disappeared, Doreen had a disagreement with her father, Mark Vincent. He told police she left through the front door of the house he had recently moved into on Whirlwind Hill Road, a rural section of Wallingford.

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By Mary E. O’Leary
Topics Editor
moleary@nhregister.com / Twitter: @nhrmoleary
NEW HAVEN — Every year they roll out, scaring away businesses and visitors and putting officials on the defensive.
They are the City Crime Rankings published yearly by CQ Press, and, according to the experts, they are not accurate and should not be trusted.
They are based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which specifically warns that rankings “lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting cities and counties, along with their residents,” said FBI spokesman Stephen G. Fischer Jr.
He said they fail to provide an understanding of the many variables that contribute to crime in any geographic district, while others say they are useless in helping the public make good decisions about their own personal safety.


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Franklyn Cruz of Meriden holds a picture of his brother, Jose Ortiz, who disappeared in 2005 in New Haven. Peter Casolino/ Register

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor

NEW HAVEN — The family of Jose Ortiz, who was 19 when he was abducted six years ago, knows he was likely murdered.

They are hoping his remains will be found, and they’ll finally learn who is responsible. His relatives have issued a plea to those who know what happened to Ortiz to come forward.

His mother, Carmen Colon of Meriden, said, “I want to know what happened to my son. Please, find it in your heart to say something.

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By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
A man who gave police information that led to a massive, unsuccessful search for the body of missing man William “Billy” Smolinski Jr. in Seymour has fled from a halfway house where he was serving the remainder of his sentence, an official said Friday.
Department of Correction spokesman Andrius Banevicius said Chad Hanson, 32, escaped from a community release program Dec. 19.

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By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor

mtuccitto@nhregister.com

NEW HAVEN — Residents and staff at the Bella Vista complex had grown accustomed to seeing the friendly man who always rode his bicycle.

Then one day, he vanished.

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