The family of Barbara Jean Monaco, who disappeared on August 24, 1978 at age 18, is photographed in Derby on 2/19/2012. Left to right are her sister, Joanne Monaco-Stec, mother, Pauline Monaco, sister, Theresa Maciog and brother-in-law, John Maciog. Photo by Arnold Gold/New Haven Register

By Brian McCready

Milford Bureau Chief

Almost 34 years ago, Barbara Jean Monaco, just 18, disappeared without a trace while celebrating her birthday in Virginia Beach, Va.

In many long-term missing persons cases, the family is in the dark about what happened to their loved one, but not so for the Monaco family. The Monaco family is all too aware of the grim details surrounding Barbara Jean’s disappearance and death.

An informant called “Condor” told authorities in April 1979 that four men abducted, raped and killed Monaco, who lived in Derby and had just graduated from Derby High School. The men tied a cinderblock to her body and threw her into a pond. She disappeared Aug. 24, 1978.

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By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
While investigators believe missing people like William Smolinski Jr. of Waterbury and Jose Ortiz of New Haven are murder victims, no arrests have been made — leaving their grieving families without answers, closure or justice.
A prosecution without a body can be challenging.
Tad DiBiase, a former federal prosecutor who manages the website nobodymurdercases.com, said in any murder case, the body is the best evidence.

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Dr. Henry Lee: Chief Emeritus of the Connecticut State Police, Founder and Chair Professor of the Forensic Science Program at the University of New Haven 1/19/12. Photo by Peter Hvizdak

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor

The region’s nameless dead have been found floating in the Connecticut River, hidden in ditches and dumped in forests and near highways. Around the state, human remains have been found by street sweepers, hunters, hikers and passers-by and unearthed by construction crews.

Police have worked for years trying to figure out who they are — a young woman found murdered in East Haven still remains nameless after 37 years.

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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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Janet Frisco of New Haven holds a photo of her daughter, Evelyn Ann Frisco, who has been missing since 2004./ Peter Casolino/ Register

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
NEW HAVEN — When Janet Frisco talks about her daughter, she starts to cry.
City resident Evelyn Ann Frisco vanished in June 2004. Her mother still has some hope she is alive, but fears she was murdered.
“For a while, if I heard a knock on the door at night, I’d think maybe…,” Janet Frisco said. “You can’t give up hope. Any time I get talking about her, I start crying. It is just so sad. In the winter, when it is cold, I wonder if she is out there. Even if I knew what happened to her, it is better than having to wonder.”

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By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
Lisa Calvo was 40 years old and homeless when she was last seen in 2005 in the Fair Haven section of New Haven.
Nineteen-year-old Jose Ortiz was abducted while riding his bicycle on Dec. 28, 2005, in New Haven, and hasn’t been seen since.
Evelyn Frisco of New Haven had a court appearance in 2004, then disappeared.

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