Still in search of answers
Family keeps missing womans memory alive
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By Gerry Tuoti, Staff Writer
GateHouse News Service
Posted Jun 21, 2008 @ 09:50 PM
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Taunton
Richard Whalley spent Friday the same way he has spent every June 20, trying to raise awareness of the disappearance of his sister, Debbie Melo.
Eight years to the day after the disappearance of Debbie Melo, the Taunton womans family is still waiting for answers.
Its been eight long years, and were no closer now than we were on day one, Whalley said.
Whalley and his wife, Robin, spent the day holding signs for Melo on the Weymouth roadside where she was last seen. Friday evening, they moved to the Taunton Green to raise awareness of Melos disappearance in her home city.
This helps a little bit, he said. It just keeps us going.
Melo, a 30-year-old mother of two, disappeared without a trace on June 20, 2000. Her then-husband, Luis Melo who didnt report her missing until more than 24 hours later told police he dropped her off on the side of Route 18 in Weymouth after the troubled couple had an argument.
Within weeks, Luis Melo, who has since remarried, severed contact with the missing womans relatives and was never present during any searches or vigils, the womans family said.
Whalley, who keeps a shrine to her in his yard, said this time of year is always difficult for him. The shrine, surrounded by flowers, features an illuminated picture of the missing woman.
Robin Whalley said she hopes Melo is still alive, but doesnt expect that she is.
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