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Cases gone coldNew cold case unit stalls without funding; officials hope for federal grantBy DINA MENDROSStaff Writer BIDDEFORD — May 21,1999 was the last time college student Angel Antonio Torres was seen.According to his mother, Ramona Torres, a boy named Jason was supposedly the last person to see her son at about 2 a.m. in Biddeford. She said she was told that Jason had dropped off her son so he could catch a ride to Denmark, where the Torres family still lives.No one has come forward to explain where Angel Torres went or whether he is dead or alive. Torres remains missing.Fifteen-year-old Ashley Ouellette of Saco was founddead lying in the middle of the Pine Point Road in Scarborough on Feb. 10, 1999 around 4 a.m. She was last seen alive at a home in Saco two hours earlier.No one has come forward with answers to her murder.In the summer of 1978, Kennebunk High School senior Mary Ellen Tanner went missing three weeks after her 18th birthday. Soon afterward, her body was found in Gracie Evans Field, an isolated tract of land near West Kennebunk.That crime remains unsolved as well.These are just three of the approximately 120 unsolved homicides, missing personscases and suspicious deaths in Maine since 1953. Considered “cold cases,” there are few resources that police and prosecutors have to dedicate to solving these crimes.Ramona Torres said while state police review her sons case several times a year, “our case is again unattended when a new, fresh case takes precedence.”While she said she believes police do the best they can with the resources they have, any new leads in the case generated grow cold by the time detectives have time to look into it again.Earlier this year, Torres, who is still waiting for answers about her son, was part of a group of family members and friends ofSUBMiTTEDPMOTOSPictured from left to right are Ashley Ouellette, Mary Ellen Tanner and Angel Antonio Torres. The two women were found dead, and their cases have not been solved; Torres remains missing.murdered and missing persons who advocated for state legislation to create a cold case squad. The primary focus of the unit was to prioritize and investigate cold cases that remained unsolved.The legislation, LD 1734, was passed earlier this year.Angie Presby of Saco, a friend of Ouellette, said by having a staff dedicated to cold cases, there would be more time spent on them and it wouldgive victims’ families a sense of hope.“It may not solve them all,but at least the attention needed for these cases will be in theSee Cases Remain ColdPAGE A2
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Biddeford Journal Tribune Weekend
Biddeford, Maine, US
Sat, May 31, 2014
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USA 21 Jan 2021
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